Silchar, May 12: Doloo mini primary health centre, located in Assam's Karimganj district and established around 69 years ago, is set to get doctors and nurses for the first time in next one week or so.

Doloo, under Ramakrishnanagar circle, is around 92km from here.

Speaking to The Telegraph this morning over phone, Karimganj additional deputy commissioner Dhrubajyoti Deb said he had conducted an inspection at the health centre last evening following allegations of absence of doctors and nurses and infrastructure drawbacks, among others. He found the centre to be in a terrible condition and in immediate need of infrastructure development.

Asked about the steps taken to solve the issue of absence of doctors and nurses at the centre, he said a male doctor from Ramakrishnanagar primary health centre would visit Doloo mini PHC thrice a week from next week. Besides, auxiliary nursing midwives and general nursing midwives will be appointed at the centre very soon. Ramakrishnanagar is a small township under Karimganj district.

Deb, who also looks after affairs related to the health department in Karimganj district, said engineers from the National Rural Health Mission, Karimganj branch, had inspected the health centre building and suggested renovation of the staff quarters. A proposal will be submitted to the state government soon.

Narrating their plight (during the inspection), local residents told Deb that doctors or nurses were unavailable for the last 20 years because of which the residents had faced immense problems.

The health centre, which was established in 1948, is the sole option for medical treatment for the residents of at least 20 villages of the district, including Doloo, Arjun Nagar, Srirampur, Mangalpur, Sathirsangan, Nayatilla and Nayagram. From infrastructure to unavailability of doctors/nurses, everything is in a bad shape, the residents rued.

They alleged that despite government records stating that the health centre is visited by doctors, auxiliary nursing midwives, general nursing midwives and other staff, the reality is completely different.

During the inspection, Deb was accompanied by Karimganj joint director of health services, Krishna Kemprai, district project officer of National Rural Health Mission, Mohammad Hanif, and others.

Senior BJP leader Shipra Goon, president of the BJP unit of Baroigram and Son Beel Mandal villages, Rathiranjan Das, its general secretary Amit Paul and a few others, who were also present at the time of inspection, expressed anger over the condition of the health centre and demanded its development as soon as possible.

They also alleged that although there are various government facilities/benefits and National Rural Health Mission schemes meant for pregnant women, women of the area have never received any such benefits till date.

Karimganj district deputy commissioner Pradeep Kumar Talukdar said ADC Deb would submit a report of the inspection following which necessary action would be taken.