NONGPOH: The first ever nursing institute in Ri Bhoi district which was constructed at Pahamsyiem in a land given free of cost by the village durbar lies in shambles as the project which has been already completed two years ago was left completely abandoned.
The scribe who visited the site along with members of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) witnessed the shambles and waste of public money on this project. Wirings and other electrical items which had been installed in the building were either stolen or damaged.
It may be mentioned here, the foundation stone for this first ever nursing institute in the district was laid by the then chief adviser to the government, Dr DD Lapang in the year 2015 during the tenure of Dr Mukul Sangma as the chief minister in the MUA II government. The then minister of health and family welfare, AL Hek was also present during the foundation laying ceremony as a guest of honor. However, the project was completed in 2016.
As per the intentions of the government during that time, the institute once inaugurated will offer diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) courses for 30 to 40 students in the first batch and will extend to 75 seats in the second batch as the state was facing the shortage of trained nurses.
However, due to reasons best known to the government, the building was left completely abandoned making it a safe haven for anti-social activities. Interestingly, the foundation stone was also missing from the site.
HNYF, Northern Region President, Marcus Marten while speaking to media persons expressed deep concerned over the failure of the government to inaugurate this institute though it has been completed a couple of years ago.
Marten urged the intervention of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to follow-up this project so that the public money spent would not go waste. He also seeks an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged scam involved in the construction of this institute.