SAD chief urges Finance Commission to allocate Rs 100 crore for hospital in Fazilka

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday urged the 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh to allocate Rs 100 crore for setting up a medical college and hospital in Punjab's Fazilka to augment health services in the border district.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday urged the 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh to allocate Rs 100 crore for setting up a medical college and hospital in Punjab's Fazilka to augment health services in the border district. In a letter to Singh, the Shiromani Akali Dal president said the medical college-cum-hospital proposed by him could serve as a focal point for not only the Malwa region but also the adjoining districts in the neighboring states of Haryana and Rajasthan.

He recommended that it be attached to the district hospital in Fazilka. Badal, who is a Lok Sabha member from Ferozepur, said there was an extreme deficit of basic facilities and healthcare in Fazilka in the government sector.

He said the district had only 0.7 to 0.9 beds per thousand population and one doctor served 6,183 persons as compared to 578 persons served in Patiala respectively. In his letter, Badal told the Finance Commission chairman that Fazilka also accounted for the highest prevalence of cancer in the country.

He said a train from Punjab's Malwa region to Rajasthan was infamously referred to as 'Cancer Express' since it ferried only cancer patients for treatment. Badal said there was no structured program to address the health problems of the people.

"We have a district hospital which is deficient as far as infrastructure is concerned," he said. Due to this, people had to travel overnight to get medical services, which further burdened them, he said.