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Nagaon, April 9: The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council has moved Dispur for more manpower and infrastructure support for the hill district’s healthcare institutions.
An autonomous council team led by executive member (health and family welfare) Ashok Teron met health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently.
He asked the health minister to take immediate steps under the centrally sponsored National Rural Health Mission so that people of the hill district could benefit from government hospitals.
An acute shortage of manpower and pitiable infrastructure coupled with the employees’ refusal to work in the district for fear of militants had led to chaos in the healthcare scenario.
The situation has taken a turn for the worse during the past three years.
No outstation doctor came to join the sanctioned posts, which remained vacant during this time.
There are 70 sanctioned posts of doctors in the health institutions of the district, of which 36 are vacant.
The worst sufferers are the health institutions in Hamren subdivision of the district where patients have to depend completely on Nagaon even for minor cases.
“Our priority is the four main health institutions of the district —- Hamren civil hospital, Bokajan civil hospital, Bokoliahat community health centre and Donkamokam community health centre. The number of doctors is insufficient. If new doctors, including specialists like anaesthetists, paediatricians and gynaecologists are appointed from Dispur, that might bring an end to the crisis.
“From the side of the council, we stress on building quarters and installing machinery. Stress is on facilities like water and power supply. If all these could be done, the institutions in the district could run better,” Teron said.
According to Teron, complicated surgeries are impossible in the rural health institutions because of the manpower and infrastructure crisis.
Militancy, topographical complexity and law and order trouble are the three main issues behind the refusal of government employees to serve in the district.
“We are giving service to the people and after our sacrifice nobody should demand the annual tax, which militants outfit fix in case of government employees,” said a contractual doctor who recently left the district for fear of militants.
Dispur released Rs 8 crore to upgrade two health institutions of the district at Rangbongghat and Balijuri.
However, after 60 per cent of the construction, work came to a halt, as KPLT abducted 10 labourers from the two sites during the past month.
The local council later moved the administration, asking for security till the work was complete.
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