Demands network growth at B’pur railway station
A meeting of the Ganjam Zila Vikas Manch was held here on Saturday to discuss the collapse of medical services in the local MKCG Medical College Hospital, south Odisha’s premier healthcare facility.
Manch members unanimously decided to urge the Brahmapur citizens to join a movement to protest the poor infrastructure and the exploitation of patients by doctors at the hospital. Representatives of different social and voluntary organisations and senior citizens alleged that poor and innocent patients are being looted by doctors and brokers with the hospital authorities remaining mute spectators.
Due to lack of proper infrastructure, inadequate blood in the blood bank, lack of state-of-the-art medical equipments, several patients have died in the hospital in the recent past, they said and expressed their serious concern over the inordinate delay in non-filling up of the vacant posts of doctors and installation of some new equipments.
Most of the times, the doctors remain busy in private practices or attached to some private nursing homes instead of concentrating on their routine patient care, alleged a Manch member.
Criticising the “step-motherly attitude” of the Government, Manch members alleged that whatever new services are introduced in the healthcare system in the State or new equipments installed, the Government’s first priority always remains with the SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack.
If this attitude of the Government continues, the Manch would launch an agitation to achieve the legitimate demands of the people of south Odisha, it was decided. The Manch also demanded opening of all super specialty departments at the MKCG hospital and linking of the hospital with the AIIMS through satellite networks for regular interaction and counselling online at the time of need.
Among other issues, the Manch also demanded adequate infrastructure and expansion of railway network at Brahmapur including developing the century-old local railway station as a model station, extension of the Bhubaneswar-Pune train up to Brahmapur and Mumbai and provision of a direct train from Brahmapur to Allahabad and Banaras.
The Manch also demanded establishment of an IIM at Brahmapur and starting construction work of the railway wagon factory at Sithalapalli for which `1 crore has been allocated in this year’s budget.
Manch president Bhukant Sahu presided over the meeting. Among others, teacher leader Govind Das, social worker and BJP leader Balakrushna Choudhury, Sagar Tripathy, Kiran Panigrahi, Manch secretary Dillip Choudhury and advocate Siba Prasad Mishra attended the meeting.