BHUBANESWAR: It sounds strange, but true. Despite tall claims by the Naveen Patnaik Government at frequent interval that efforts were under way to provide quality healthcare to people, as many as 921 posts of doctors are lying vacant in Orissa at present.

The latest official figures were given by Health and Family Welfare Minister Duryodhan Majhi in the Assembly on Friday in reply to a question raised by several Opposition legislators.

KBK region

The situation is worse in the backward Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region. In spite of the recommendations by various organisations, including the National Human Rights Commission, the authorities have not been able to do enough for these tribal-dominated tracts that report a large number of deaths due to under-nutrition, endemic malaria, diarrhoea and other diseases.

According to Mr. Majhi, the KBK region that consists of the eight districts of Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, Sonepur, Nawrangpur, Malkangiri, Koraput and Rayagada has a total of 260 posts of doctor lying vacant.

While stating that the Government was taking necessary steps to fill the vacancies, Mr. Majhi, however, claimed that healthcare services in the KBK region had not been affected despite the vacancies in the posts of doctor.

In the KBK region, the doctors working at the district headquarter hospitals were being paid an additional amount of Rs. 2,000 and those in the rural areas were being given additional remuneration of Rs.

5,000, Mr. Majhi said in reply to another question.

The Minister said the process aimed at filling vacancies in the posts of doctor across the State was on as per the guidelines of the Orissa Public Service Commission.

While appointing doctors on contract basis, the Government had also given powers to the District Chief Medical Officers to appoint retired doctors to the vacant posts, Mr. Majhi said.

Mr. Majhi said that steps had been taken to appoint ayurvedic and homoeopathic doctors in the allopathic health centres and dispensaries on contract basis.

Mentioning that 82 posts of pharmacists were lying vacant in various hospitals in the State, Mr. Majhi said the Chief Medical Officers had been directed to fill the vacancies on contract basis in different districts.

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