Mithila students collect bricks for building AIIMS Darbhanga after 6 yrs of govt inaction

Frustrated with the Nitish Kumar government's inaction over constructing an AIIMS hospital in Bihar's Darbhanga district, the Mithila Student Union (MSU) has decided to take matters into their own hands. Since August 1, 2021, thousands of volunteers from MSU have visited eight districts across Darbhanga to collect bricks for the proposed hospital and plan to perform a 'shilanyas' (stone-laying ceremony) at the government site on September 8 in the presence of 5000 locals. The Union government had approved the Darbhanga AIIMS project in September 2020 for a cost of Rs 1264 crores.

MSU collect bricks to construct AIIMS at Darbhanga

Speaking to Republicworld, MSU General Secretary Aditya Mohan Jha said, "In 2015, the Centre had asked the Bihar government to allocate 200-acre land for the proposed AIIMS hospital. Between 2015 and 2018, the Centre had written to the Bihar govt regarding land allocation but the state government did not do so. Later, when the Centre threatened to cancel the project, in a hurry, the Bihar government suggested converting the existing GMCH into an AIIMS. But till date, inspite of promising an AIIMS at Darbhanga in the Lok Sabha elections and the Bihar Assembly elections, no work has started - no even land levelling".

Comparing it to other AIIMS projects, Jha pointed out that AIIMS hospitals have been made functional in Gorakhpur, Rajkot, Guwahati, Nagpur, but not even the foundation has been laid at Darbhanga. Talking about the MSU campaign for Darbhanga AIIMS, he added, "We have not made this campaign on party lines. If the government does not do it, the public will do it. As of date, thousands of our student volunteers are spread across eight districts in Darbhanga and have collected 10,000 bricks from houses in these villages. We plan to perform 'shilanyas' on September 8 at the Darbhanga AIIMS site in the presence of 5000 people".

In a bid to grab the attention of the authorities and citizens across the country, MSU has been trending #DarbhangaAIIMS on Twitter, sharing photos of student volunteers visiting houses and collecting bricks. "People who cannot be there at the Shilanyas are also sending us bricks, as awareness of our campaign spreads," said Jha. MSU is also organising door-to-door awareness campaigns, cycle rallies apart from the brick collection in nearby villages to fulfill their aim to get an AIIMS hospital at Darbhanga.

Talking about the failing health system in Bihar, Jha said, "90% of primary health care centres are closed in Bihar with most of them used to store fodder. On a pilot basis, we had organised a social media campaign called '#AphcChalukaro' to reopen such shut PHCs. This led to the opening of PHCs in Bangaon, which has the largest population in a Bihar district and is now functional. This was needed amid COVID."

Apart from local health issues, MSU is also involved in campaigning for an airport in Purnea, which has been announced in 2015. Using #PurneaAirportLA, MSU has been questioning the Centre as to why the land acquisition for Purnea Airport has been pending for six years. Darbhanga got its own airport in 2020, two years after it was inaugurated. MSU has also demanded that the Nitish government announce a one-time Rs 1 lakh crore package for the flood-hit North Bihar to strengthen bridges, buildings etc.