Pijush Hazarika orders pay-cut of SMCH Doctor; allots 14.5 crore for better drainage in Silchar

Newly inducted Minister of State (MoS) Urban Development, Health and Family Welfare Pijush Hazarika, today, visited various parts of Silchar. This is his first visit outside Guwahati after taking oath as an MoS and occupying his office.  After reaching Silchar, he first visited Silchar Medical College and Hospital and the Minister was highly disappointed with the cleanliness and hygiene condition there. He said there is a day and night difference between the condition of Guwahati Medical College and Silchar Medical College, even when the same Government runs it.

He further went to the ward and checked patients’ prescriptions, and found out that the patients are buying all medicines, as there was no supply provided to them. He immediately called up officials in Guwahati to figure out the reason behind the scarcity of medicines in Silchar. He was informed that the supply reached last Friday itself, but was yet to be supplied to the patients. “Either the medicines are not reaching on time or they are not disbursed adequately. Whatever the problem is we need to find an immediate solution. Medicines must be available round the clock as it is in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital,” said Hararika.

Earlier, the state budget Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, sanctioned Rs 100 crore for development of SMCH. Hazarika today asked the administration to utilise 70 per cent of it in the next two months for developments. This came after he found out that there is lethargy in the approach, due to which only 10 per cent of the sanctioned fund is utilised.

The Minister also made it mandatory to install biometrics devices in each department to monitor attendance of doctors and other hospital staffs. He went to the psychiatrist department and found out the doctor in-charge was not on duty. When he checked the register and consulted the department, he discovered that Doctor Himabrata Das was supposed to be available in the hospital at that time, after consulting with the authority, Hazarika ordered pay-cut of the SMCH doctor. He also mentioned that strict actions would be taken against doctors and other officials violating attendance norms.

From SMCH, the Minister went to Silchar Civil Hospital and there too, he was irked at the condition. If we can recall, when Governor Jagdish Mukhi visited the same hospital, he too was upset at the poor hygienic condition.

Later in the day, the Minister was felicitated at the Silchar Red Cross Hospital by the administration in present of veteran politician Kabindra Purkayastha, Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya among others. Hazarika was overwhelmed at the reception, and he also appreciated the efforts of the Red Cross Hospital. “We have very high population and it is very important for government hospitals to meet the requirement of each patient and treat them adequately on time. So it is a very important role that hospital like Red Cross play for the betterment of the society,” Hazarika said. After the hospital visits, Hazarika said that government hospitals are in unhygienic conditions while private nursing homes are neat and clean. “It is not the patients but the hospital authority who needs to be blamed for the shortcomings,” he said.

Hazarika also met Silchar Municipality Board members at Gandhi Bhavan, Silchar. In the breakthrough meeting, he announced that he would allot rupees 14 and half crore for drainage in Silchar. But to get the money, the SMB needs to submit a plan of action with estimate to Urban Development office in Guwahati, failing which the money would be allotted to some other city. The Minister urged Municipality board to better the revenue collection and reduce the deficit. According to his estimate, the monthly operational cost (expenses) of running SMB is around Rs 1.10 crores of which about Rs 62 lakh is paid as salary while the total income is only Rs 56 lakhs of which Rs 40 lakh comes from taxes. Hazarika shared that there are enough avenues for the board to pad up revenue and asked the board to collect taxes in a systematic manner. When he found out that the rent collected from the Municipality owned properties are not relatable to the modern day tariff, he urged SMB to hike rent match what the private bodies are charging. The Minister said that will help garner better revenues. As a taunt to the board, Hazarika said Silchar is very dirty and drains are all blocked, “If no one is cleaning then why are we paying salaries,” he said. Chairman of SMB Niharendra Narayan Thakur was present in the meeting along with other political figures and board members. Hazarika ended the meeting with an assurance that he will be back soon to see the progress.