Kanchi Shankaracharya for hospital near Silchar
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jan2611/state06
Kanchi Shankaracharya for hospital near SilcharCorrespondent SILCHAR, Jan 25 –
As a part of his mission for North-East as a whole, Kanchi Shankaracharya has
expressed his willingness to set up a superspeciality hospital near Kumbhirgram
Airport, 18 kmn from here, on a plot of land donated by Arunabund Tea Estate
owned by the Kolkata-based Bhagirathi Green Field Real Estate Limited.
The Sankaradeva Nethralaya at Guwahati, also a dream project of the
Shankaracharya with the financial and accommodation back-up of the company, is
today an important centre of eye treatment in the North East. Justifying the
superspeciality hospital in Cachar with particular focus on cancer, Dipankar
Chatterjee, chairman-cum-director of the company, addressing a press meet here,
recently said that the highest incidence of the dreaded disease in southern
Assam “has prompted Shankaracharya to have a better centre of treatment for the
economically backward people of this region”.
Besides, the strategic location of the hospital will be of immense help to the
patients not only of cancer but other diseases of the entire North Eastern
States and even beyond, Dipankar Chatterjee said, adding that the 30 acres of
land donated by the company has been transferred to a trust awaiting
registration. He appreciated the active support of Dr Harsha Bhatta-charjee,
director of Sankaradeva Nethralaya, in this humanitarian cause who has
estimated initial investment of Rs 25 crore to begin the project. A sum of Rs
50 lakh has been sanctioned from the Prime Minister’s special fund at the
initiative of former Union Minister Santosh Mohan Dev.
Dipankar Chatterjee, however, expressed his surprise at the ‘hostile attitude’
of a few labourers who have their thatched houses on the plot of land earmarked
for the hospital. This was quite inexplicable considered against the gesture of
the tea management to provide them pucca dwelling houses on an alternative
site. They are the workers of the Arunabund Tea Estate who, according to an
insider, are opposing the hospital being instigated by outside elements having
vested interest in the land under their possession and its adjoining area.
In order to resolve the issue, Dipankar Chatterjee pointed out that he had
talked to the two unions, Cachar Cha Sramik Union and Barak Valley Cha Mazdoor
Sangh which control the labour force of the tea estate. Both the unions assured
the tea estate of all possible help to persuade the workers free the land in
their possession. The tea estate, in return, assured the workers with whom
Chatterjee also held discussion on all the basic facilities. Chatterjee said if
the problem was amicably settled, Kanchi Shankaracharya would come down here to
lay the foundation of the superspeciality hospital in March or April for which
Rs 100 crore would be spent in the first phase.
The plan also envisages to have a satellite township around on the pattern of
the Siliguri satellite township developed by the company. Once the hospital and
the township come up, it will change the socio-economic scenario of the region,
pointed out Chatterjee. S Guha Thakurta, ITA chairman, Barak Valley Indian Tea
Association and RN Pandey, senior manager of the Arunabund Tea Estate were
present at the press meet.
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