Villagers block roads to Una for 10 hrs

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, March 4

Villagers blocked all roads leading to Una district for more than 10 hours today demanding action against a doctor of a private hospital in a patient’s death case. Thousands of commuters and trucks remained stranded on the borders of Punjab and Himachal.

The protesters, mostly residents of Sonoli Majra village in the district, were demanding the arrest of the doctor of a private hospital in Mehatpur area whom they accused of medical negligence leading to the death of Davinder Singh.

Sources said that an ENT surgeon had operated upon Davinder in the private hospital on March 2. However, the patient died due to some post-operation complications. The residents of Sonoli Majra village started a protest in front of the hospital on the Mehatpur to Una national highway yesterday evening and also blocked traffic. The administration diverted traffic onto alternative roads. However, early this morning, the villagers blocked all roads leading to Una city from Punjab side.

Deputy Commissioner Raghav Sharma along with SP Arjit Sen and other senior government officials tried to pacify the protesters. However, some unruly elements in the gathering misbehaved with senior officials. The matter was resolved around 4 pm after the district administration assured the protesters of action in the matter.

The SP said that the doctor accused of medical negligence had been booked. A police team had been sent to Mohali in Punjab to arrest him. On the demand of the protesters, a medical board had been constituted to investigate the reasons for Davinder’s death, he added. The protesters also demanded compensation for Davinder’s family.

The Deputy Commissioner said, “We have assured the protesters that free legal aid would be provided to the family of the deceased for seeking compensation from the consumer court. We have also assured them that their request for a job for Davinder’s wife will be forwarded to the government.”

Meanwhile, people criticised the district administration for its failure to remove the protesters. They said that the entire police top brass was present in Una district for the Police Sports Games but still people suffered due to road blockades.