Sambalpur: Life came to a standstill in Burla following a 12-hour bandh call given by the Sachetana Nagarika Manch in protest against the punitive action of the Odisha government against director of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) Prof Ashwini Pujahari.
All trading establishments, government offices and educational institutions remained closed while vehicular traffic came to a grinding halt during the bandh, which began at 6 am.
The protesters staged blockade at several places of the town by burning tyres.
The bandh is being supported by several organisations and civil societies.
The Manch has demanded reinstatement of Prof Pujahari as VIMSAR director till his retirement.
Also Read: VIMSAR Director Served Show Cause Notice, Asked To Leave
“Since the day of the appointment of Prof Pujahari as the director, there has been a vast improvement in the healthcare services and quality in the treatment of the patients in VIMSAR. It is due to his efforts the infrastructure development of the institute has been expedited while a Nursing College has been set up in Burla. We demand his immediate reinstatement as the director of the institute. If the state government does not reconsider its decision and the Junior Doctors’ Association withdraws its demand for his transfer, the people of Burla will give Maha Bandh call in the coming days,” said a member of the Manch.
The Manch members also demanded the report of a video footage showing the VIMSAR PG students beating up some people inside the institute last year. While the police have said that they had sent the video footage to Pune for examination, there has been no report in this regard till date. “On the other hand, acting on the demand of Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA), the state government took action against the director within three days which is grossly illegal and undemocratic. In protest against their unilateral decision of the state government, we have given the 12-hour Burla bandh call,” they added.
Criticizing the decision of the government, a senior advocate and member of the Manch said as per law, that the government can take action against any official after getting the reply from him/her to its show-cause notice. But in the case of Prof Pujahari, the state government has asked him to go on leave before receiving any reply from him.
“A conspiracy has been hatched by some people to defame the state government. A meeting of the BJD held in Hirakud recently revealed the complicity of the local MLA in it. We the people of Burla are aware of what is going on here. Since last 60 years, even not an inch of land of VIMSAR is under its possession. If the institute fails to show up the land under its possession, the Medical Council of India (MCI) will derecognise the institute. Thanks to the efforts of Prof Pujahari, the land patta of the institute is going to be allotted to its name very soon. Instead of acknowledging his efforts in this matter, some people are demanding action against him, which we have vehemently opposed and will continue to protest in the coming days,” he pointed out.
