The Suvendu Adhikari government has taken the initiative to assess the feasibility of establishing an ESI Medical College and Hospital in the Darjeeling hills.
In May, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista sent a letter to the chief minister with a plea to consider the proposal to set up a healthcare and medical education institution in the hills.
The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), which functions under the Union labour ministry, runs 21 medical colleges across the country.
Among these are two medical colleges and hospitals in Bengal, located at Maniktala and Joka in Calcutta.
“I had mentioned in the letter to the chief minister that such an institution would help in the augmentation of the tertiary healthcare in the hills and immensely help tea plantation workers and their families who live in the Darjeeling hills, Terai and the Dooars tea belt. It is good that the state has acted on the letter,” said Bista.
Altogether, around 30 lakh people — tea garden workers and their families — would benefit if the ESI medical college comes up, the MP said.
As of now, workers depend on the state’s health infrastructure as the healthcare facilities are in a shambles in most tea gardens. In a few gardens, hospitals are run by some of the tea companies.
“For years, they had to travel long distances, face expenses and suffer other
hardships during serious illness. If the hospital is approved and built, it would also help the cinchona workers and people across the hills,” said Bista.
Based on his letter, a joint secretary of the state
labour department has sent a letter to the director of ESI in the state, asking him to examine the feasibility of the proposal.
“The director has also been asked to submit a report so that it can be sent to the chief secretary’s office in due course,” said a source.
The move follows a recent announcement of the chief minister that medical colleges would be built in four districts of the state, including Kalimpong and South Dinajpur in the north, which do not have such healthcare institutions so far.
“As of now, people have had to descend to Siliguri for critical medical cases. We hope the state goes ahead with the proposal of setting up the ESI medical college and hospital. The Kalimpong district administration has already identified land for the proposed medical college, and if these two institutions come up, the healthcare sector will get a major boost in the hills,” said a Darjeeling resident.