A year on, notification for hospital upgrade awaited

Our Correspondent

NURPUR, MARCH 20

Resentment prevails among residents over the non-issuance of notification by the state government for upgrading the local 100-bed civil hospital to a 135-bed facility. The decision to upgrade the hospital was announced by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at a public meeting at Jassur, near here, on February 3, 2016.

The local Civil Hospital is rendering specialty services to the residents of Nurpur, Indora, Jawali and Fatehpur Assembly constituencies of lower Kangra district and the neighbouring Bhatiyat Assembly segment of Chamba district. Keeping in view the increasing number of patients in the indoor wards and OPD need was felt to upgrade it. However, neither a notification has been issued nor any plan chalked out by the health department for constructing a building to house additional 35 beds.

Local MLA Ajay Mahajan had raised the issue in the MLAs priority meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on January 31. The current hospital has sanctioned posts of 18 doctor out which five have been lying vacant.

Intriguingly, the previous PK Dhumal government had revoked the notification of the 100-bed hospital after coming to power in 2007 which had been issued by the previous Virbhadra government that had upgraded it from 50 to 100-bed facility in the election year. The present Virbhadra government after coming to power in December 2012 had again notified it to a 100-bed facility.

RS Rana, Chief Medical officer, Kangra, said he had received no government notification for upgrade of the Nurpur hospital. Former MLA and member state BJP working committee Rakesh Pathania has alleged that the announcement of the Chief Minister was a political gimmick. He lamented that local MLA had failed to get the public announcement of the Chief Minister implemented by notifying additional beds, enhancing the capacity in the hospital.