Senior health official flagged the lack of an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine in the general hospital in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district during the visit of Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve.
Senior Surgeon Anil Rudey told Danve the general hospital is the biggest health facility in the backward district, which also has areas afflicted by Maoist violence, and patients need to be referred to Nagpur and Chandrapur, which is a drain on resources.
The hospital, which treats patients of trauma as well as those injured in man-animal conflicts, does not have MRI facility despite a proposal sent two years ago to have two machines, the official told Danve, who is the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Council.
Expressing concern, Danve said, Two MRI machines cost Rs 10 crore. This should not linger for two years. One machine must be bought at the local level and the state government must sanction the second one. After his review of the district, Danve also said 55 gram panchayats in Gadchiroli do not have their own administrative building, while 212 villages do not have any connectivity.
Youth of the area should be given skill training, while boys lodged in statre0-run Adivasi hostels must be given their stipend for food, which comes to Rs 3,000 per month, every month rather than once in three months, Danve said.
Incidentally, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was the guardian minister of Gadchiroli during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Uddhav Thackeray. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is the guardian minister of the district at present.