By Our Staff Reporter
Haridwar, 13 Jan: The protest against giving the Haridwar Medical College for operation in PPP mode, here, shows no signs of abating. After the students, Congress workers have now joined the protest. The Congress workers gathered outside the medical college campus here, today, causing a commotion.
Police stopped Congress MLA Ravi Bahadur and youth leader Sumitra Bhullar at the gate and did not allow entry into the college campus.
It may be recalled that MBBS students have been protesting against the decision to hand over the operation of the government medical college located in Laksar, Jagjitpur, in PPP mode. They have even been skipping their classes to stage the protests. The Government has, on its part, assured that the fees for the students will not increase due to the PPP mode operation. Additionally, the government has also assured that the students would continue to receive all other facilities like those in a government medical college. Despite these assurances, the students continue to protest. These assurances have failed to pacify the protesters, who remain sceptical about the long-term implications of the decision.
Now the issue has also turned political with the Congress joining the protests. The Congress workers and student leaders argue that the privatisation of a government medical college through the PPP model could ultimately lead to higher fees in the future, making medical education less accessible to economically disadvantaged students. They also feel that the PPP mode could affect the quality and affordability of healthcare services provided by the institution and also set a precedent for the privatisation of other public medical institutions in the state.
During the protest, MLA Ravi Bahadur criticised the government’s decision, calling it as an attack on affordable medical education. He demanded that the state retract its decision to transfer the medical college to PPP mode and engage in a transparent dialogue with all stakeholders, including students and faculty members.
Youth leader Sumitra Bhullar asserted that education and healthcare are fundamental rights and should not be handed over to private entities for profit-making.
