Garbage accumulation at Purulia Medical College has triggered action from West Bengal’s health department after BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato raised the issue during a visit to the hospital and contacted Health Minister Sharadwata Mukhopadhyay by phone.
According to Anandabazar, Mahato visited the medical college after learning about the death of an acquaintance’s father. He questioned why waste was scattered across the hospital campus and criticised the condition of the premises. During the visit, he was heard asking the health minister to transfer the hospital superintendent, saying the superintendent had been in the post for a long time.
The report said the health department subsequently issued show-cause notices to the principal and vice-principal of Purulia Medical College. The department sought an explanation for their absence from the institution and for not informing officials in advance, according to health department sources cited by the report.
Six assistant superintendents were also served notices. They were reportedly asked to explain within six hours why the hospital campus had remained unclean. The department also directed the institution to clean the premises and send photographs of the work after completion.
The episode has also raised questions about responsibility for sanitation services at a public medical institution. Mahato alleged that the agency appointed for cleaning and sanitation work during the previous Trinamool Congress government had contributed to the condition of the hospital. The report did not provide details of the agency or the terms of its contract.
Mahato said he was distressed by the condition of the hospital and claimed that some people inside the institution were deliberately attempting to discredit the government. Those allegations were not independently established in the report.
The intervention has led to a political exchange in Purulia. Congress leader Nepal Mahato criticised the MP’s demand for action against officials, comparing it to using disproportionate force against mosquitoes. He questioned whether the MP was visiting the medical college for the first time and argued that attention should be directed towards improving the hospital’s infrastructure instead of escalating the sanitation issue politically.
Purulia Medical College principal Mousumi Bandyopadhyay said she was not aware of the show-cause notices. She said a planning file for the cleanliness work at the medical college had been sent to the health department. Hospital superintendent Sukamal Bishai declined to comment, according to the report.
The immediate administrative step is the six-hour response deadline issued to the officials, along with the instruction to complete cleaning and submit photographs to the health department.
