Aug. 2: Panchayat members have launched a campaign for the development of the 30-bedded Kaliganj hospital, which is also the official primary health centre unit in Karimganj district.

The members have written a letter to state health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informing him about the dilapidated condition of the hospital, which lacks even the basic modern healthcare facilities.

The Kaliganj hospital was constructed more than 50 years ago and till today no step has been initiated to upgrade or develop its infrastructure. The panchayat members blamed the government for the dilapidated condition of the hospital.

The members have demanded the appointment of the requisite number of doctors and nurses. Around 20,000 people from Kaliganj and its outskirts are facing extreme healthcare problems owing to the shortage of doctors and other medical staff in the hospital. Officially, six doctors, six nurses and a laboratory technician are needed for the proper functioning of the hospital. According to the local people, at present, only two doctors and two nurses are working and even they are not available all the time.

The post of the laboratory technician has remained vacant for the past 25 years and thus patients face serious problems whenever they visit the hospital for blood and sputum tests. The hospital does not have any life-saving drug and lacks preventive medication for infectious diseases.

A senior health official in the joint directorate of health services in Karimganj district said the entire district is facing a shortage of doctors, as they are not interested in going to the rural areas.

He further said they have written to the directorate in this regard, hoping that some doctors would be appointed soon.