Cancer survivor uses Holi colours for a cause

BARGARH: A cancer survivor of Bargarh adopted a unique method on Holi to draw attention towards the cancer hospital project in the district which has failed to take off even after more than a year of its announcement by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Seeking to draw the government’s attention to the proposed project, Aswini Darjee posted his picture on Facebook with ‘I Want Cancer Hospital in Bargarh’ written on his body in different colours. The picture went viral and has been doing rounds on various social media platforms since Monday.

During a public meeting at Ichhapali near Sohela on February 21, 2019, the Chief Minister had announced the cancer hospital in Bargarh. Later on January 21 last year, Naveen reiterated about the project during inauguration of the new building of the district headquarters hospital (DHH) at Tukurla. 

Subsequently, a team of Odisha Cancer Care Foundation (OCCF) visited the premises of the DHH, Bargarh to identify land for the hospital and review infrastructure for the proposed project. The team was satisfied with the location for setting up a level-III cancer hospital on the DHH premises on February 6 last year. However, more than a year has passed but the project continues to hang in balance.

Darjee said the cancer situation in Bargarh district is worsening by the day. Citing a report, he claimed that more than 60 per cent of the total cancer cases reported in the State every year are from Western Odisha with majority of the patients belonging to Bargarh. However, the government has turned a blind eye to the alarming cancer situation in the district.

“The inconvenience faced by patients during Covid lockdown was evident to all. The State government is well aware of the fact that cancer treatment facilities in this region are not adequate and cannot cater to the large number of patients here. Still, it has failed to address this problem. At times, cancer patients are not even getting the regular medicines due to lack of supply and inadequate infrastructure. It is high time the government took action in this regard,” he said. Since social media is a powerful tool, the cancer survivor said he decided to make an effort to draw attention towards the delayed hospital project in a unique way.