MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha sits on hunger strike in front of Assembly, demands relocation of proposed Medical College site

The North Karimganj MLA, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha has sat on a hunger strike in front of the Assam Legislative Assembly today with the demand to establish Karimganj Medical College following the NMC Guidelines. During the ongoing Autumn Session of the Legislative Assembly, the Congress MLA has staged this protest today. He has alleged that the proposed Karimganj Medical College is being established in Ratabari, which is 60 kilometres away from Karimganj town, which violates the regulations of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

The proposed Karimganj Medical College is going to be established in the Ratabari area of Karimganj. The North Karimganj MLA has voiced his opposition to this proposal in the Assembly as well, but he alleged that the answer was politicised by some members and that is why he sat on the hunger strike.

Dey Purkayastha sat with a placard which says, “On demand for shifting the location of Karimganj Medical College from interior place of the District to a location nearby National Highway. And, to establish it following NMC Guidelines.”

While speaking to the media in front of the Assembly Bhawan in Dispur, the MLA said, “The current state of the Vidhan Sabha is filled with partiality. There are different sets of rules and times for the members of the party in power and the ones in opposition. A few days back the Karimaganj Medical College was approved in the budget and as per the last cabinet meeting (in Silchar) the site for the college was declared at Ratabari by the Chief Minister. But the NMC guidelines say a medical college should be established within 10-15 kilometres of the District Hospital. But the present site that has been fixed is around 56-60 kilometres from the headquarters of Karimganj district. There is a point of infrastructure and if a medical college is being made that far away in a remote location, locals won’t be able to access it. Who will it serve then?”