SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Dec 17: Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL) Sindri will open an OPD clinic for the health services of 70,000 urban and rural residents of the township from 2023.
HURL senior vice-president Dipten Roy has informed the All India FCI VSS Employees Association about this and said that under the corporate social responsibility (CSR), the HURL management would run an OPD clinic from the first day of the New Year to cater to the health service requirement of retired FCI employees as well as the urban and rural population of Sindri township.
The OPD would run from 8 am to 6 pm. Besides doctors and nursing staff, ambulance service would also be available 24 hours to cater to emergency requirements.
All India FCI VSS Employees Association has welcomed the decision of HURL management, especially the initiative of the senior vice-president and requested him to revive the closed hospital of Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI) in the interest of the Sindri residents. FCI had a well-established hospital in Sindri but was shut down in December 2002 with the closure of the plant.
For the last 20 years, residents of Sindri have been gasping for health services, especially at night. The nearest government health centre (Chasnala community health centre) is 8 km away. Though the state health department has opened an urban health centre in Sindri, residents allege that doctors don’t sit there daily and timely.
“We had been demanding for health clinic from HURL management for a long time. We highly appreciate the gesture of the management, especially vice-president Dipten Roy who realized the requirement of the people of the region. We will request him to revive the closed FCI hospital in the interest of residents,” said Sewa Singh, president of All India FCI VSS Employees Association.
Singh said that former deputy commissioner (DC) Dhanbad Umashankar Singh had taken serious steps to revive the FCI Sindri hospital in PPP mode. He even lined up with higher officials of FCI management in Delhi but with his transfer from Dhanbad, the revival proposal was wrapped up under the carpet. “The present DC has not shown any interest in it so far,” Sewa Singh added.
