A question mark on Assam health services?
Assam Governor, Janaki Ballabh Pattanaik, who recently fell into the bathroom of Dibrugarh circuit house, had to go to All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi for treatment of the fracture .There successful surgery has been done on his ailment. Similarly, when the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi had to go for by-pass surgery, he was advised to go to Mumbai. It all makes the fun of the Assam’s health and family welfare departments, which claims of providing ‘world class’ services in the healthcare sector. It is a question mark on state’s health services?
If the publicity through the advertisements of the Assam government in media is to be believed, the state does not lag behind any other state of the country, so far the health services are concerned. Recently launched Sarathi 104, the revolutionary 24-hour health information helpline is in the service of the people. After Andhra Pradesh Assam is the only state in the country to implement this service. Any medical advice e or health information is reachable through telephone round the clock from every nook and corner of the state. Mrityunjoy 108 Ambulance services are now available throughout the state. Operation Smile is back in Assam and people can avail of surgical corrections for cleft lip and palate free of cost. The department of health and family welfare has been successful in bringing new smiles on the faces of 2030 children and their families in Assam so far. These are the achievements shown in the newspapers of Guwahati and other cities.
Now in harmony with the Government’s effort to make quality healthcare services affordable and accessible, the Model Hospital Construction Scheme has been launched. Under this scheme 60 model hospitals with state-of-the art healthcare facilities would be provided to the people of the state. All this is being done for the welfare of the people by the department of health and family welfare, without improving the condition of already existing hospitals and healthcare centers. However, the VIPs lack faith on such services and prefer to go out of the state for better medical services.
It’s strange that despite such claims, the conditions of the hospitals and medical colleges in the state are not able to bring much relief to the suffering patients from malaria, dengue, swine flu etc. Even the medicines in the hospitals are not given to the patients, who are asked to purchase the same from outside pharmacies. Absence of competent doctors and other staff members is very common incidence. In most of the healthcare centers physicians are found absent. The problems of the ordinary people go unheard. A few cases of service by Mrityunjoy 108 had been reported earlier, when the ambulance reached to pickup patient without having oxygen and other necessary materials.
The VIPs and affluent people can afford to go to big cities for treatment, but it’s not possible for the common people. The state government should have planned to improve the services of the existing hospitals and take services of competent staff instead of laying too many foundation stones for new centers. The model hospital scheme has been started with foundation stone laying ceremonies and so far two foundation stones have been laid. Like many other schemes in the past a section of the society suspects that this scheme would also end with the foundation stones only.
Random Stories
4 Nov 2014 - 5:32pm |
Syed Miraz Ahmed
With the aim at encouraging young students to pursue higher education in the United States, the Education USA Alumni Road show is travelling to four cities- Guwahati, Kolkata,...
10 Dec 2014 - 4:56pm |
AT News
Come March 29, 2015. Golaghat General Field will turn into a mini north east. Courtesy Srimanta Sankardev Foundation. The organization is gearing up to hold the first ever Golaghat Festival to...
23 May 2017 - 9:19am |
AT Kokrajhar Bureau
One person died on the spot while two others received injury due to elephant attack on SUnday night at Saralpara village along Indo-Bhutan border in Kokrajhar district. According to villagers, a...
10 Jun 2012 - 3:45am |
editor
A local resident along the Indo-Bangla border is understood to have committed suicide after he was declared a doubtful voter. He was not given the form for voter photo identity card in Cachar...
Other Contents by Author
It’s true there are no permanent friends and foes in the politics. Onetime foes are sometimes very much helpful to keep one’s interest fulfilled, of course on their own terms. For a long time in Assam, there were speculations about ruling Congress Party joining hands with All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). The AIUDF chief, Badaruddin Ajmal had approached Congress Party chairperson, Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders to have an alliance in the mutual interest. But having champion’s position in the Assembly polls by making win thrice, the Assam chief minister, Tarun Gogoi was not in favor of having any link as he was not in good terms with AIUDF chief, Ajmal.Now, since the Bharatiya...
Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) is facing problems of rampant extortion from businessmen, farmers, employees and general people and kidnapping of businessmen. The business community like Hindi and Bengali speaking are largely targeted by some illusive extremist elements whose real objective is to make money for them and create terror in the area. The premier students’ organization of Bodoland, All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) through a memorandum, has urged the Union Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde to take action against ongoing acts of kidnapping, extortion and illegal taxations in the area due to failure of law and order.The workers and farmers belonging to Bodos...
Save Assam, a voluntary organization of the state of Assam has requested the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh to reject the ongoing demands of further dividing Assam by several organizations and get necessary amendments in the Constitution of India to include the Koch Rajbongshis, Ahom, Chutia,Moran, Matok and Tea Tribes in the list of Scheduled tribes.In a memorandum recently sent to the Prime Minister, the organization has said that since the independence of the country, Assam has been cut short several times. During the year1963, a new state namely, Nagaland came into existence by cutting a part of the state. Again during the year 1971 two other states, namely, Mizoram and Meghalaya...
Out of 543 Lok Sabha and 242 Rajya Sabha members about 146 (104 and 42 respectively) are beneficiary of drawing public money through Parliamentary secretariat on account of availing services of their kin as their personal secretaries and assistants. Among them there are five Parliament members from Assam. It is reported that they are drawing rupees thirty thousand per month from parliamentary secretariat on account of their family members like father, wife, daughter etc. According to sources in parliamentary secretariat, Rajya Sabha member Bhubaneswar Kalita, Barpeta’s MP Ismail Hussain, Guwahati’s MP Bijoya Chakravorty, Nagaon’s MP Rajen Gohain and BPF MP S K Bwismuthiary are drawing all...
Higher and technical educational scenario of the Northeastern region have been drastically changing from last five years. Although facilities of world class institutions are now available in the region itself, every year a large number of students from the region fall in the trap of not only fake institutions, but also some approved institutions without required facilities because of their colorful advertisements and aggressive marketing. Thus spake M Haque, the president of North East Forum for Technical Institutions while addressing the media recently in Guwahati.The North East Forum for Technical Institutions (NEFTi) is the first of its kind initiative with an objective to work for...
Tripura state government has put the state on top in implementation of MGENREGA scheme for the fourth time during the financial year 2012-13. The state has kept itself on the top by providing 86 workdays against the prescribed 100 days, whereas the national figure stood 39 workdays during this period. Addressing the media persons in Agartala recently, Tripura’s rural development minister, Jitendra Choudhury said that even during the years 2011-12, the state achieved the target of 86 workdays. The state of Mizoram got the second position in the country by working 69.25 workdays. The state of Tamil Nadu by achieving 51.26 days was the third and Andhra Pradesh stood fourth by providing 49.61...
The essence of a woman is very difficult to be comprehended as a woman is the origin of child and she is the core of the family. Unfortunately, due to the age old customs and prejudices prevalent in our society, she is made to feel inferior and gradually one perceived her to be weak. Injustice and discrimination against women started to occur and in modern times it reached an alarming rate and hence a situation arose where it became imperative to take measurers to prevent such atrocities towards women, argued a number of social activist belonging to Prithibi, an NGO for women and children on the recent Women’s Day on 8th of March 2013.Prithibi, the NGO is working for welfare of women and...
The Congress Party general secretary, Rahul Gandhi, projected by his party as the future prime minister of the country, has proved to be failure for the post due to his shyness and escaping from sharing administrative responsibilities despite frequent appeals by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The young and old party leaders providing encouraging support in his favor also desired that he should come at the forefront now and make the party’s future strong enough.
Rahul Gandhi might be feeling uncomfortable assessing his own ability as during the earlier Assembly elections in Bihar, he was asked to campaign against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), but his party’s position...
Assam government’s dubious decisions and bias actions are giving birth to new problems for thepeaceful citizens of the state day by day. The Dimasa dominated North Cachar Hills Autonomous Councilhad earlier in the year 2008 demanded to change the name of the district after the Dimasa. The district’sNon-Dimasa people raised their voice against this demand. They formed a new platform to protest bythe name of Indigenous Peoples’ Forum (IPF).The Government of Assam bowed down before the tyrannical demand of DHD(J) to change the districtsname as Dima Hasao on March 30,2010 in the backdrop of the rupees thousand crore scam in thedistrict, said IPF General Secretary, Ngaidam...
Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) in its latest report released in Guwahati on October 22, 2012 has claimed that juvenile justice in Manipur has been suspended by the Ministry of Women and Child Development due to corruption and misuse of the resources. The Manipur government had claimed that Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) have been set up in all the nine districts and the Project Approval Board (PAB) for the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) of the WCD ministry in its 14th meeting on 22 February 2011 approved the grants for nine JJBs. However, the state government failed to establish the JJBs, the PAB in its meeting held on January 17, 2012 and the ministry had no other option...
Add new comment