Cutting across party lines, tribals in Tapi district have protested against the state government's decision to privatize the Government Referral Hospital in Vyara district headquarters.
As per the plan, the Referral Hospital will be handed over to Torrent Group's UNM Foundation to develop the Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) College, a new self-financed medical college (brown field), under the model of public-private partnership.
Congress MLA Dr Tushar Chaudhary on Thursday questioned the government's decision in the Assembly and sought an explanation on starting GMERS College at a hospital where tribals are already undergoing treatment.
Responding, Health and Family Welfare Minister Rushikesh Patel said, โWith the creation of the medical college, tribals will have access to super specialized treatment at the hospital. Local students will benefit from being able to study in their own district instead of going to distant places. The tribals will get good doctors. โOnce the locals become doctors, they will provide services in their own areas.โ
He added that the state government is analyzing the requests it has received from interested parties to develop the medical college.
Vyara hospital has a capacity of more than 300 beds and 35 doctors. It serves more than 250 inpatients and more than 1000 patients daily in the OPD. Patients from neighbors Dang and Surat He will also be referred to the hospital, a hospital source said.
Meanwhile, members of the tribal communities, under the banner of Adivasi Samaj, have been holding protests for the past few days.
Most read
On September 8, Congress leader Yusuf Gamit led one of the longest protests spanning 140 kilometers and over 90 villages in the district. Tribal members and leaders of the BJPCongress, AAP, JD(U) and Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP), under the banner of Adivasi Samaj Tapi, joined the foot march and submitted a memorandum to district collector Vipin Garg against the privatization move last day of the demonstration on September 13. Ramila Gamit, the wife of BJP leader Jayram Gamit and who is an elected member of the BJP in Tapi district panchayat, also participated in the rally with their followers.
โThis is the first time that all the tribal leaders belonging to different political parties of BTP, AAP, BJP, Congress and JD(U) have come together. The objective of the demonstration was to raise awareness about the issue and seek support from the people. The rally culminated at Vyara district headquarters where tribal leaders handed over a memorandum to the district collector with a notebook containing signatures of two lakh tribal members from different villages,โ Gamit said.
Gamit added that a meeting was organized on September 17 and that he would resort to other measures if the government did not give in to his demands. โโฆat the meeting we will decide our future course of actions if the government does not accept our demand to keep the hospital as it is. We will organize large public meetings in Vyara. We will also conduct programs like rail roko, rasta roko andolan etc,โ he said.
