BJP to protest Himachal Pradesh Govt's move to shift Nahan medical college

NAHAN : The BJP has announced it would protest against the Himachal Pradesh government's proposal to shift Dr Y S Parmar Medical College from the Nahan town to the Kashiwala village, nearly three km away. Several social organisations have also expressed concern over the proposal. Nearly half a dozen organisations, including Citizens Council, Navbharat Yuva Sangh and organisations of retired persons have objected to shifting of the Nahan Medical College from the Nahan town.

Himachal Pradesh BJP president and former MLA from Nahan Rajiv Bindal on Sunday wrote an open letter to Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, requesting him to drop the proposal. The proposed site is a jungle and there are no basic amenities there. The government would have to construct a 500-bed hospital with an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore prior to shifting of the medical college at that site, he said. All the necessary formalities of taking permission from the Government of India, forest clearance, making roads, providing local transport facilities, construction of hostels and inn for common people may take more than five years, Bindal added.

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Sirmaur BJP media head Rakesh Garg in a statement issued here warned the state government against shifting of the college and said that if the government persists with its "anti-people" plan, the BJP will start an agitation and will take to streets.

However, the Congress MLA from Nahan Ajay Solanki said that the government was not shifting the hospital facility from the Nahan town but was working on the expansion plan of the medical college. He alleged that the BJP was misguiding people on the issue. The Nahan Municipal Council, governed by the BJP, has refused to issue a no objection certificate (NOC) for the 161 bigha of land requested by the medical department at the Kanshiwala village for the shifting of the medical college.