HT Correspondent
MARGHERITA, July 25: In stark contrast to the state government’s recent directive mandating timely salary disbursements for all contractual workers, 19 contractual employees at Margherita FRU Civil Hospital have not received their salaries for the past four months, causing significant trauma among them.
Gajendra Tanti, a contractual sanitation worker at the hospital, expressed his frustration, stating that despite several months of dedicated service, he has not been paid for three months. Whenever he inquires about his salary, he faces threats of termination from the hospital management.
An investigation by this correspondent revealed alarming conditions at the hospital. Patients are treated on unclean bedsheets and pillows, the kitchen is dirty, and both bathrooms and latrines are in a dilapidated state with foul odours emanating from them. Despite these issues, the deputy superintendent and the management committee have not addressed these problems.
A ward assistant reported that doctors at the hospital often refer patients to private laboratories in Margherita for various tests, receiving substantial commissions from the lab proprietors. However, the sub-divisional officer (civil) and the joint director of Health Services in Tinsukia have not taken any action against these doctors.
Rajesh Sharma, national council member and in-charge of North Eastern states for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), criticised chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who frequently boasts about Assam’s development. Sharma urged CM Sarma to visit Delhi to witness the advancements in government hospitals and educational centres under chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership.
Sharma emphasised that the contractual workers at Margherita FRU Civil Hospital earn modest salaries, and the four-month delay in payments has severely impacted their ability to support their families. He appealed to the Tinsukia district deputy commissioner to take immediate and stringent action against the hospital’s management committee and deputy superintendent to resolve the salary delay issue.
