Patients of TB Hospital in Tezpur face food crisis

From a Correspondent

Tezpur, Nov 7: At a time while the health department proclaims of bringing a revolutiory changes in the health sector, the TB Hospital at Ouguri Hill, Tezpur in Sonitpur district is facing a food crisis. According to sources, owing to some hasty polices of the department, considerable archy has been prevailing in Tezpur TB Hospital for want of food to meet the daily needs of the TB patients for the last two months. Food is being arranged with dotion and contribution of doctors, nurses, staff and people.

The Chandrath Lakhidhar Memorial TB Hospital, Tezpur is the only TB hospital in middle-east region of Assam which came into existence in 1960 and subsequently, in 1980 the hospital was made a government-aided hospital. There are 50 beds available and for daily food, including tea, Rs 40 is allotted for every patient for which the contract of supplying food was approved by the office of the Joint Director of Health, Sonitpur. But from September 15 onwards, the suppliers refrained from supplying food stuff at the TB Hospital following non-receipt of the money as agreed in the contract. Moreover, the surroundings of the hospital are not very clean. A light shower also creates water-logging in the campus. 

Nutrition is necessary for recovery of TB patients. But the patients here are facing food crisis. Doctor, nurses, staff and local people have been arranging food for the patients since September 15 to help them recover soon. Susen Kujur, an attendant of a patient, alleged, “Patients come over here to get relief from the disease but the arrangements of the hospital authority have drawn an ambiguous picture about the recovery of the patients. The authority concerned must ponder over the issue and give priority to create a healthy atmosphere in the hospital.”