Assam: Sribhumi healthcare crisis deepens as primary health centre remains shut for 11 years

Serious concerns have emerged over the crumbling state of government healthcare services in Sribhumi district, where a Primary Health Centre (PHC) located in the constituency of Health Minister Krishnendu Paul has remained non-operational for the past 11 years. The abandoned building, now engulfed in wild vegetation, reflects long-standing negligence in the rural health sector.

 

The PHC at Rangamati, under Patharkandi and near the Assam–Mizoram border, was constructed in 2014 with the aim of providing crucial medical access to the border population. However, due to an acute shortage of health workers, the centre has remained closed since its establishment, leaving local residents completely deprived of essential medical care.

 

Adding to the crisis, the district’s only 300-bed Civil Hospital in Sribhumi also suffers from major infrastructural and manpower deficiencies, despite the Health Minister himself serving as its chairman.

 

According to reports, the hospital has only 5 ICU beds instead of the mandatory 25. The oxygen plant frequently malfunctions, anti-rabies vaccines are unavailable, and not even a single burn specialist has been appointed. Recently, several victims of the Charbazar gas cylinder explosion had to be shifted to Silchar Medical College due to the lack of burn treatment facilities in the district hospital.

 

Raising the issue formally, District Congress Secretary Pankaj Nag submitted a memorandum to the Joint Director of Health demanding immediate activation of the Rangamati PHC and urgent reforms across the district’s healthcare infrastructure.

 

Nag criticised the government’s indifference, alleging that despite widespread suffering, the Minister has shown no initiative to upgrade medical services. He further claimed that individuals speaking against corruption are being intimidated with threats of losing their ‘Orunodoi’ scheme benefits.

 

He urged the administration to prioritise public welfare and rectify the severe lapses in healthcare services, cautioning that the Congress would be forced to launch a mass agitation if demands continue to be ignored.