Protest over closure of free Sonography services at Silchar Civil hospital

The long-standing provision of free sonography services at Silchar's over-a-century-old Civil Hospital has been halted due to the absence of a radiologist

This development sparked a protest organized by the Civil Hospital Modernization Demand Committee in front of the hospital. During the demonstration, from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, key speakers like Kamal Chakraborty, Dipankar Chand, and Nikhil Pal expressed their concerns.

They highlighted that the closure of these services would impose a financial burden on economically weaker families who rely on free medical tests provided by the Assam government.

Kamal Chakraborty stated that the people of Cachar district would be deprived of the welfare schemes intended by the state government. Despite submitting a memorandum demanding the appointment of a radiologist to officials like Dr. Ashutosh Barman, the Deputy Director of Health, and Dr. Apurba Kumar Patoar, the Civil Hospital Superintendent, no positive action has been taken so far.

Dipankar Chand criticized the inconsistency of political promises regarding the hospital's modernization, which fades after elections. He pointed out the absence of doctors in critical departments like orthopedics, ophthalmology, and surgery, which hampers patient care. Nikhil Pal urged public representatives to take appropriate steps to address these issues urgently.

The protest witnessed participation from several notable individuals, including Haridas Dutta, Surjit Som, Satyajit Gupta, Hillol Bhattacharya, Nanda Dulal Saha, Khadeja Begum Laskar, Samir Bose from Human Science, Sabir Ahmed from Breakthrough Science Society, Bhaskar Das