Prof Prakash Mahapatra Appointed In-Charge Director Of VIMSAR

Sambalpur: The Odisha government has appointed Prof Prakash Mahapatra as the in-charge director of the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR).

The appointment of Prof Mahapatra was made after the outgoing director Prof Ashwini Pujahari went on an indefinite leave on Saturday following the directive of the Health and Family Welfare department the day before.

Following the ouster of Prof Pujahari, the junior doctors had joined their duty on Saturday afternoon, put the three-week-long cease work on hold.

Meanwhile, the action taken by the Health and Family Welfare department against Prof Pujahari has triggered resentment among the people in Burla and Sambalpur and the adjoining districts of Balangir and Bargarh.

Alleging political vendetta against the former director, several organisations and civil societies had burnt the effigies of Sambalpur MLA Dr Raseswari Panigrahi and Health and Family Welfare minister Pratap Jena on Saturday.

The protesters of these organisations, who had begun relay hunger strike from Saturday, have given the 12-hour Burla bandh call on December 10.

Notably, commissioner-cum-secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Pramod Meherda on Friday had served show-cause notice on Pujahari and asked him to go on leave till he replies to it and the matter is decided.

Apart from being asked to reply to the show-cause in three days, Pujahari was asked to submit the probe reports against him.

Notably, the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) of VIMSAR had taken strong exception to the mode of surgery of Pujahari using table salt and tabla therapies which had gone viral.

Following the demands of the JDA, Puhahari had withdrawn from the surgical practices as the in-charge of Unit-I of the department, which he had informed the head of the Surgery department in a letter on Friday afternoon.