Doctors under the banner of the Meghalaya Medical Services Association (MMSA) are likely to stage a cease work agitation as a mark of protest against the state government’s failure to take action against the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) authority.
Medical services in the state are likely to be affected by the protest, if the government delays to address the issue, sources close to MMSA said.
On June 24, the MMSA had threatened to resort to a series of agitations, the decision of which was taken at an emergent meeting of the state executive committee (SEC) of the MMSA.
“The SEC of MMSA has decided that as the government did not respond to the demands of the association, there is no other alternative but to resort to agitational programs which will be informed accordingly,” MMSA general secretary Dr R Pohsnem had said in a letter to the Secretary in-charge Health and Family Welfare.
In its letter to Health Minister James K Sangma on June 1, the MMSA had demanded the state government to set up an inquiry and take appropriate action against the Registrar and Director of Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) for "falsely portraying" the Director of Health Services (MI) Dr Aman War in poor light in the media.
The MMSA had also demanded that the IIPH, Shillong campus, be moved out of the current office space provided to them in the already congested office of the Deputy Director Malaria.
According to them, IIPH, Shillong campus, should be having their own office building by now as the MoU had been signed between the government and PHFI way back in 2008.
The MMSA in the letter also condemned the way the visit of DHS (MI) to old NIFT building on May 27, is being played out in the media by the Director and the Registrar of India Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Shillong campus, and senior government official of the state.
It stated that the DHS (MI) had sincerely served for 33 years in both rural and urban areas of the state in different capacities until he reached the level of Director of Health Services (MI) without any blemish and always for the welfare of doctors and public as his priority.
The letter said that the MMSA is aware that IIPH, Shillong campus, was set up to strengthen Public Health System in the state in particular and in the Northeast region in general adding “but the way the Registrar and Director of IIPH, Shillong campus, handled the matter by portraying the DHS (MI) in poor image and, that too in the media, has indeed affected the dignity and prestige of the members of the Meghalaya Health Services and this will rather disintegrate the health system than meeting the original mandate which IIPH, Shillong campus, is designed to deliver.”
The MMSA also urged upon the government to revisit the Memorandum of Understanding, which was entered into between the Government of Meghalaya and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
