The second gate of MKCG hospital in Berhampur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, Sept. 11: Gunasagar Das of Bhanjanagar had brought his 70-year-old mother Snehalata for a check up to MKCG Medical College and Hospital.

He was disappointed when he came to know that the newly built second gate of the hospital was closed to check crime on the premises.

“We had to travel 3km through a jam-packed route to reach the hospital, though the distance between the second gate near the new bus stand to the hospital is hardly 1km and less congested. The closure of this gate really troubled my old mother and me,” said Das.

The public, especially those who come from the western side and depend on the MKCG Medical College and Hospital, are irked at this development. The decision to close the newly built second gate of the hospital for general traffic was taken at a meeting held at MKCG Medical College and Hospital on August 29.

“This gate, which is adjacent to the new bus stand, was closed earlier after the MKCG Medical College and Hospital was shifted to its present building in 1968. It was opened after five years to facilitate building of the new gate, sources said.

“The gate was closed to provide security to doctors and staff of the medical college. The incidents of crime on the campus has increased alarmingly in recent times. Goons looted a medical student’s bike after beating him up. Medical students protested against this incident a few months ago,” said local MLA R.C. Chyau Patnaik, who is also a physician.

Sub-divisional police officer Sarat Chandra Mohapatra said open routes and gates acted as safe escape routes for goons after committing crimes there.

“We have also taken steps to strengthen security on the campus,” he said, adding that encroachers would be driven out from the campus.

“There will be a compound wall built around the medical college and hospital soon. We will restrict entry of motorcycles and four-wheelers on the campus through the routes connecting Shanti Nagar, Goilundi and Gajapati Nagar. Only pedestrians will be allowed. Though another gate near State Bank of India remains closed, the main gate always remains open,” said an official of the medical college.

Berhampur Nagar Congress Committee, however, has demanded immediate steps to reopen the gate. “We will launch an agitation if this gate is not reopened within a fortnight,” said committee’s president Sanjit Panigrahi.