Patna: There is an acute shortage of doctors in Bihar and no hope in the near future to fill the void, according to statistics health minister Mangal Pandey rattled out in the Assembly on Friday.

Pandey said the estimated population of Bihar is 12.94 crore and there are 6,830 government doctors - one doctor for every 17,658 persons.

He was replying to a question raised by Akhtarul Islam Shahin of the RJD who said the World Health Organization had recommended one doctor for every 1,000 persons.

"There is shortage of doctors the world over and there is a shortage in Bihar," said the minister.

He stressed that the government was recruiting more doctors through the Bihar Public Service Commission and Bihar Technical Service Commission. However, the minister did not give any specified timeframe for reaching the level of one doctor for a population of 1,000.

BJP MLA C.N. Gupta pointed out that there were only 109 doctors in Chhapra district against the sanctioned 245. RJD MLA Ejya Yadav pointed out that a primary health centre in Samastipur had only two doctors and posts of five doctors had remained vacant for the past five years. Md Afaq Alam of the RJD pointed out that there was no lady doctor posted in a block-level hospital.

Pandey had a tough time answering a question by Lalit Kumar Yadav who pointed out that eight ventilators for children purchased by the PMCH in 2012 had all become non-functional. The minister said a three-member committee had been formed to probe the matter and it would submit its report within 15 days.

'Poison in dishes'

Congress MLA Ram Dev Raialleged there was rampant adulteration in masala (spices) used for cooking, and charged the health minister for serving poison in dishes. The minister denied the large-scale adulteration charges pointing out that the authorities had taken 454 samples in the past six months and only five were found substandard.

"Cases have been registered against the five," he said. The Congress MLA alleged that the minister had failed to put them in jail. Replying to the jab, the minister said it was not the job of the health department and once the case has been registered, it's up to the court to decide. He dubbed Rai a confused man.

An angry Rai with a few other MLAs was seen walking inside the Well of the House trying to lodge his protest. However, the Speaker did not allow Rai as a result of which the Congress MLA tore up the question sheet and walked out of the House.