Shillong, March 07: The Khasi Student Union (KSU) today sent the letter to Urban Affair Minister Ronnie V Lyngdoh expressing the union opposition to land allocation by Meghalaya Urban development Authority (MUDA) opposite to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) at Mawdiangdiang, Shillong, to some state government for construction of quest house.
In the letter sent to urban affair minister sign by the president Mr Lambok Marngar and the general secretary Donal V Thabah, said that, “ we are shocked to learn that Government land, probably MUDA’s land, right opposite the NEIGRIHMS main gate has been allocated as a guest house to some state government. We have no problems of Meghalaya allocating land for state guest houses”.
The KSU said that the problem arises from the fact that the priority for allocation such land is not justified. “We would like our Government to accommodate the needs of the people of the state first. After all they are the ones who elected this Government to power in the first place. The loyalty of our Government is to them first. The land in question should have been earmarked for the setting up of boarding and lodging facilities for the patients of NEIGRIHMS. Guest houses for other state Government could have waited or allocated somewhere else. We expected the Government to at least have that sense of priority and decency for its own people”.
The KSU term this action of MUDA as dubious deed and this has been done well before the present urban affair minister taking charge of MUDA. Why it was done so; the unknown unreasonable considerations involved; the intended unknown beneficiaries from such allocation of prime Government property need to be seriously enquired into. Not only has that but the agreement, if any, with the other state Government mentioned above, needed to be revisited and renegotiated.
The KSU as well as other civil society organisations of Meghalaya are sore and very disappointed by the above act of MUDA which is totally anti Meghalaya and its people. We request you to kindly see that it is rectified and that the interest of the State and its people are restored. All of us eagerly await positive action from your end at the earliest said The KSU president Mr Lambok Marngar president KSU and Donal V Thabah General Secretary in the letter sent to the Urban affair minister and others.
Na doubt, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) at Mawdiangdiang, Shillong. This institution has been termed as a centre of excellence for Health and Health Care facilities and from the number and types of registered patients it would appear that the hospital has been able to attract patients from all over the NE and even from nearby countries. There is little doubt that this attraction is mainly due to quality service NEIGRIHMS has been able to provide to the sick and the ailing. These services provided by expert health consultants also come at a cheap and affordable price, a real blessing to the poor and the needy. It is indeed a boon to many poor rural patients of Meghalaya who come from far flung remote villages of the state who otherwise would have need to travel to far off places for treatment with all the heavy expenses such travel would incur. This is an aspect the Government of Meghalaya has to take into consideration and encourage as far as possible maximum accessibility of NEIGRIHMS health services to our people.
One of the biggest hurdles faced by out station patients of NEIGRIHMS, especially those that come from remote and far-flung corners of the state is a place to stay, while undergoing treatment. Their expenses double and triple as they are forced to seek accommodation in hotels of Shillong and to daily commute the 12 odd km between NEIGRIHMS and Shillong. Some even have to commute daily from their villages, an unnecessary torture for the patient. This is the greatest disadvantage Meghalaya patients face and any steps to diminish this problem would be most welcome. A most appropriate gesture from the Government is to allocate space for the setting up of hotels, lodges or guest houses to accommodate the sick and suffering.
