Nuh MLAs demand overhaul of neglected medical college, threaten indefinite stir

Four Congress MLAs staged a protest in front of Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Medical College Nalhar in Nuh, decrying poor infrastructure and inadequate services. Led by Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed, the MLAs accused the BJP of favouring Mewat even though Nuh remains one of the most backward regions in the country. They threatened that if conditions did not improve by Eid, they would launch an aggressive indefinite protest until the government addressed the crisis.

BJP indifferent to Nuh

BJP is biased and indifferent to Nuh despite the area being backward and most in need of healthcare and educational facilities. This hospital lacks basic infrastructure and all that it does is refer people to other hospitals.

— Aftab Ahmed, nuh mla

The protesting MLAs claimed that the medical college, established by the Congress 11 years ago to provide affordable, quality healthcare to the region, has been reduced to a mere referral hospital due to a lack of proper staff, medicines and infrastructure.

“BJP is biased and indifferent to Nuh despite the area being backward and most in need of healthcare, educational facilities etc. This hospital lacks basic infrastructure and all that it does is refer people to other hospitals. Many lives are lost because of the lack of infrastructure here, but who cares? We are part of NCR and a stone’s throw from Gurugram — but visit us and see where we are lagging today,” said Aftab Ahmed.

Ahmed further alleged that while the Congress government had worked on creating a special Mewat cadre and provided special allowances to teachers and doctors posted in the area, the BJP abruptly ended these benefits. “The BJP government has not been able to appoint a permanent doctor in the medical college. They stopped the allowance given to doctors as soon as they came to power in 2014. Teachers were transferred from schools outside the district, ventilators were taken away during Covid, and there is always a shortage of medicines and even staff. This clearly reflects the intention and mentality of the government that Nuh is not a priority. This college was running well in our tenure — attracting patients from Rajasthan too — but now even local patients aren’t getting treated here,” he added.

Punhana MLA Mohammad Ilyas said the government was intentionally turning the medical college into a white elephant, pointing out that apart from faculty and doctors, there is a significant shortage of both senior and junior residents. Ferozepur Jhirka MLA Mamman Khan noted that the college, built at a cost of Rs 500 crore, does not even provide basic ultrasound and X-ray facilities to patients. Hathin MLA Mohammad Israil emphasised that the MLAs were forced to protest to rouse the BJP from its complacency and vowed that the protest would continue until substantial improvements were made.