10-day stir for better med facilities in hospital withdrawn

The Sikkim Progressive Youth Forum (SPYF) spearheaded 10-day-long agitation seeking better medical infrastructure at the district hospital in West Sikkim was withdrawn on Tuesday.

The stir, under which the youths were staging dharna at the East Sikkim District Collectorate premises since Thursday, was called off after some volunteers fell sick, SPYF Chief Convenor Prakash Sharma said.

The SPYF have been demanding more manpower, appointment of radiologist at the hospital, among others.

Over 100 volunteers of SPYF had called 'Gangtok Chalo' and trekked 110 km from Geyzing, the district headquarters of West Sikkim, to the state capital demanding better medical infrastructure at Gyalshing district hospital.

The protesters had staged dharna initially at Titanic Park near the busy Mahatma Gandhi Marg before they were shifted by the local authorities to an area outside the district collectorate premises last week.

Health Minister A K Ghatani, Secretary (Health) Vishal Chauhan and senior health department officials had held parleys with the protesting youths for the past several days, but no meeting ground could be worked out between the two sides, he said.

"We decided to call off our dharna in view of the deteriorating health of our friends who have been staging sit-ins over the past 10 days," the SPYF Chief Convenor said.

Their movement for quality health services as per Indian Public Health Standards ((IPHS) guidelines for all will, however, continue in future, he said.

Sharma said that the outfit will launch state-wide movement soon seeming standard medical infrastructure at all government hospitals in Sikkim.