SCB Row: Jay Panda questions Odisha Govt’s Silence

ONI Bureau: BJD MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda, who returned from a multi-party delegation level visit of Parliamentarians to Japan, has responded to a ‘Tweet SOS’ by a follower, raising questions on the functioning of health sector in Odisha as well as the silence of CM Naveen Patnaik.

Responding to the photocopy of the probe committee report by a Twitterati Dr Moriarty, Baijayant Panda, tweeted,

“If this document is authentic, it’s odd that no action has been taken yet. For some reason, in the last couple of yrs the state’s health sector has been repeatedly in the news for all the wrong reasons. In the past NaPa wd never have tolerated this. Who’s calling the shots now?”.

The “probe report” posted on Twitter says “It is concluded beyond reasonable doubt by the E.C that Dr. D Hota, HOD, Urology has utilized M.Ch students of his department for his OPD and OT work in a private set up. However, the authenticity of the audiovisual evidence supplied has to be checked by a competent technical authority as the conclusions drawn by the EC are based on these evidences”.

Meanwhile, health services at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack continue to be affected, as the junior doctors of Urology department refuse to end their 8-day-long stir. Even 150 House Surgeons and 160 Senior Resident Doctors have taken leave en masse to support the agitation.

The doctors have been on warpath, demanding suspension of Dr. Duteswar Hota, Head of Urology Department for allegedly harassing them mentally and physically. Health Minister Pratap Jena has drawn flak for maintaining a stoic silence in this matter.