The public row between the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) and senior government healthcare workers has not gone away, with the Meghalaya Medical Services Association (MMSA), who represent the latter, threatening to launch agitations as the state government has not taken action against the IIPH.
The IIPH has been in the news of late after a row blew up between it and the Director of Health Services, Dr Aman Warr, after the DHS demanded the removal of IIPH from Health Department property. The row took another turn after senior non-medical civil servants in the department appeared to take IIPH’s side.
In an emergent meeting of the MMSA’s executive committee today, it was decided that, as the government has not responded to the association’s demands for action against IIPH, “there is no other alternative but to resort to agitational programmes,” though what these will entail was not spelled out by MMSA general secretary Dr R Pohsnem in a letter to the Health Department.
The MMSA wants an inquiry and action against the IIPH registrar and director for maligning the image of Dr Warr. After IIPH went public with its side of the story, Dr Warr was slapped with a show-cause notice by the Principal Secretary of the Health Department, Sampath Kumar. The MMSA took umbrage at this as Dr Warr was not asked for his version of events first.
The association also demanded that IIPH be moved out of Lawmali, where it occupies space meant for the office of the malaria unit.
