Private hospitals remain shut in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, May 25: Healthcare services were affected in Odisha as thousands of private clinics, hospitals and diagnostic centres remained closed on Friday, officials said.
Hospitals across Odisha supporting the 24-hour ceasework strike called by the All Odisha Private Medical Establishment Forum (AOPMEF) demanding several amendments to the Odisha Clinical Establishments (Control and Regulation) Act were closed.
Medical practitioners of private hospitals and clinics staged demonstrations demanding amendment of the Odisha Clinical Establishments Act.
According to the new rules, the conditions for registration of private clinics and hospitals have been made more stringent.
The AOPMEF is demanding amendments in the Act, especially the one that requires the establishments to adhere to fire safety norms.
Clinics will have to get a fire safety certificate from the fire department and a no objection certificate from the pollution control board.
"More than 90 per cent of private clinics and hospitals are unregistered due to the stringent conditions in the Act. If the government does not renew the registration by relaxing the norms, we have no other way but to shut down," said Ajoy Kumar Mishra, president of the forum.
Meanwhile, the Health Department has asked all government health institutions including government medical colleges and hospitals to be ready to meet the emergency situation arising due to the strike.
The leave of all doctors and workers has been cancelled and more paramedical staff and doctors have been appointed in the casualty, trauma care and women and maternal care departments, said Director of health services B. Brahma.
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Dalit girl gang-raped in moving car in Mathura, accused on run
Mathura (PTI): A Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped by three persons here in a moving car, after which she was thrown out on the side of a road, police said on Friday.
An FIR has been lodged against the accused following a complaint from the minor's father and efforts are on to arrest the trio, they added.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Trigun Bisen said the girl, who is around 13-year-old, has been sent to the district women's hospital for a medical examination, after which her statement will be recorded before the magistrate.
Citing the complaint lodged by the girl's father, the SP said the incident took place on Thursday when the the minor went to a shop in her neighbourhood to buy items for breakfast.
At the shop, a man named Neeraj allegedly gave her a bottle of water laced with sedatives. As soon as she drank the water, she started feeling dizzy and fainted, the complaint said.
Neeraj, his friend Shailendra and another associate then allegedly took her away in a car. They raped the girl in the moving car while she was in a semi-conscious state and threw her out under the flyover of Barsana Road before fleeing.
On regaining consciousness, the girl reached home and informed her parents about the incident, the complaint added.
According to the SP, while narrating her ordeal, the condition of the girl deteriorated and the family immediately took her to a doctor, who also confirmed that she was raped. Following this, her parents filed a complaint at the Chhata police station.
Bisen said that a case has been registered and the matter is being probed, adding that efforts are on to arrest the three accused persons.
