The general public in the industrial and coal rich Jharsuguda district is deprived of proper healthcare by the major industries here. Except MCl, OPGC and TRl Krosaki, no other industries are coming forward to lend any support to setting up a good hospital.
The major units Sesasterlite, Vedanta Aluminium, Ind Bharat Energy (Utkal), Concast Steel and Power are yet to take initiative in fulfilling their commitment to set up a multispecialty hospital at a cost of `50 crore though they had declared to do so three years ago.
The district is flooded with many industries. Apart from the ones already mentioned, there are TRl Krosaki Refractories, SMC Power Generation Company, Action Ispat, MSP Metalliks, and TPSl etc. These units are also not taking care of the basic health needs of the public in the peripheries. As a result, the inhabitants of the industry-rich district have no other option than to depend on the District Headquarters Hospital.
The leaders of the political parties are declaring in a number of meetings to set up a Burn Unit and Trauma Care Unit at Jharsuguda, but that too looks to be a wild goose chase. The accident and burn patients in case of emergency are being shifted to the Ispat General Hospital at Rourkela , about 150 km away from Jharsuguda, to get proper medical treatment. In such cases, many patients die before reaching the hospital.