12 Years, No Doctors: Assam Govt Faces Backlash Over Tekeri Hospital Neglect

The Tekeri Model Hospital, constructed 12 years ago to improve healthcare in the Assam-Arunachal border region, remains non-functional, drawing sharp criticism from local organizations and residents. 

Despite its completion in 2012, the 30-bed facility has not been inaugurated, leading to severe inconvenience for the people of Tekeri.

Tekeri, a large village in the Pengeri region of Assam's Tinsukia district, comprises 12 localities and over 2,000 families. Despite 75 years of independence, the village still lacks a high school and an English medium school. 

Considering the urgent need for healthcare, a local social worker donated six bighas of land for a hospital. The Congress-led Assam government initiated its construction in 2008, and by 2012, the facility was fully built and handed over to the state government. However, 13 years later, the hospital remains abandoned, sparking growing resentment among the locals.

Repeated appeals from villagers and organizations such as the All Moran Students' Union and other regional bodies to operationalize the hospital have been ignored. Over time, the hospital has fallen into disrepair, with its premises now resembling a cattle shed. 

The facility is covered in cow dung, and the quarters meant for doctors and nurses are being used for paddy storage. Although Assam Police, Commando forces, and Indian Army personnel were stationed at the hospital at various times, the Assam Health Department has yet to deploy doctors, nurses, or provide medicines and medical equipment.

Residents are now questioning the state government’s claims of improving healthcare when a fully built hospital remains unused. Many believe the ruling BJP government has ignored the facility simply because it was constructed during the Congress era. Notably, Assam’s current Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was the state’s Health Minister at the time of the hospital’s construction.

Expressing their anger, the All Moran Students' Union (Margherita-Pengeri Regional Committee) and Tekeri Anchalik Yuva Sangha have accused the government of betraying the people of Tekeri by turning the Model Hospital into an abandoned structure rather than a functioning healthcare facility.

Issuing a strong warning, the organizations have stated that if the government does not immediately operationalize the hospital, it will face intense protests from the people of Tekeri. They demand urgent action to end what they call a "12-year-long healthcare betrayal," emphasizing that the government must take responsibility before the situation escalates further.

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