BJP MLA Biswajit Phukan seeks Trauma Care Hospital in Kaziranga after fatal road accident that killed 26

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Biswajit Phukan has urged the Assam government to establish a high-quality trauma and accident emergency hospital in the Kohora area of Golaghat district following the November 13 road accident near Kaziranga that claimed 26 lives and left around 20 others injured.

Raising concerns over road safety along the highway stretch, the Sarupathar MLA said the road from Kaliabor to Numaligarh Tiniali was highly accident-prone, with both minor and major accidents reported almost every week.

In a social media post following the tragedy, Phukan stressed the need for a dedicated trauma care facility in Kohora to ensure timely medical assistance to accident victims.

“A high-quality trauma and accident emergency hospital is extremely necessary in the Kohora area. We hope the Chief Minister will consider this matter,” he said.

The demand comes after a devastating collision at Rangajan, near Hathikuli Tea Estate, on National Highway 715, where a minibus carrying passengers, many of them college students returning from classes, collided head-on with a container truck on November 13.

Around 20 people were injured in the accident. The injured were initially taken to Kohora Model Hospital, following which most of those critically injured were referred to civil hospitals in Bokakhat and Golaghat, as well as Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH), for further treatment.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that ensuring immediate and quality medical care for the injured was the government's foremost priority.

Meanwhile, Phukan also expressed disappointment over what he described as attempts to politicise the tragedy, particularly through discussions about hotels instead of healthcare infrastructure.

“However, seeing some people play politics by talking about hotels instead of a hospital even in such a moment of grief makes me surprised at their behaviour,” he said.

The MLA's demand has brought renewed attention to the need for improved emergency healthcare infrastructure along the accident-prone highway corridor, particularly in areas surrounding Kaziranga National Park.