Calcutta/Behrampore, Jan. 31: After the farmers in Singur and Nandigram, the Church of North India is protesting against land acquisition by the government.

The church has alleged that the government had acquired one of its hospitals “wrongfully” to set up a clinic. Members of the Christian community today launched a protest at Jiagunj in Murshidabad, about 210 km from Calcutta, where the hospital is located.

“We will take up the matter with the chief minister. The hospital premises is church property. It is our earnest request to the government to return it to the church,” said Rev. Brojen Malakar, bishop of the Barrackpore diocese.

Nearly 500 people assembled this morning in front of the 113-year-old hospital, spread across 14 acres, and demanded that the premises be handed back to the church.

“We will continue our movement till our demand is met,” said Herod Mullick, general secretary of the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba. “We are ready to run the hospital in consultation with the government but we will not allow it to take over the entire 14 acres.”

Representatives later submitted a memorandum to district magistrate Subir Bhadra.

Health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra is scheduled to open the clinic tomorrow. Mangobinda Mondal, the Murshidabad chief medical officer of health, said the licence for the clinic has been issued.

Mullick said the dispute started in 1988. “The hospital at that time was in a deplorable condition for lack of repairs. The diocese was going through a financial crisis and had no funds to repair it.”

The diocese handed over the hospital to the government temporarily, he said. The two sides had agreed that the government would renovate it and hand it back in 1995. “The renovation was never undertaken,” Mullick alleged.