Longkhim shuts down as the United Sangtam Students' Conference protests severe doctor shortages in Longkhim-Chare subdivisions.
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TUENSANG — Public anger and frustration boiled over onto the streets of Longkhim town on Friday as the United Sangtam Students' Conference (USSC) launched the first phase of democratic agitation against the Health department’s alleged neglect of healthcare services in Longkhim and Chare subdivisions.
Hundreds of students and members of the public gathered at Traffic Point in Longkhim town to protest the Health department's continued failure to address the severe shortage of medical personnel in the region.
Addressing the gathering, USSC president Adikheng I Sangtam asserted that access to quality healthcare is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution of India and accused the government of ignoring the healthcare needs of the people.
He claimed that five Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Longkhim-Chare are functioning without doctors, while the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Longkhim has been left without a medical officer after the lone doctor was transferred in 2025 without a replacement.
According to the student body, only a senior medical officer and a dentist had been posted at the CHC as of 2024.
The USSC also alleged that repeated representations to the Health department had yielded no tangible results: a memorandum submitted on October 1, 2024, went unanswered, while an appointment order issued in August 2025 for a doctor to be posted at the CHC never materialised.
It further stated that it had served a 12-day ultimatum to the department in May this year, demanding immediate action to address the staffing crisis.
With the ultimatum expiring on June 11 without any response, the organization said that it had no option but to launch democratic agitation.
During the protest, solidarity speeches were delivered by representatives of various organisations, while the USSC submitted a fresh memorandum through the additional deputy commissioner of Longkhim to the principal director of Health and Family Welfare.
The memorandum demanded the immediate deployment of a senior medical officer, medical officer and staff nurses to CHC Longkhim, as well as a medical officer for PHC Chare.
Meanwhile, commercial and business establishments across Longkhim town remained closed during the rally in support of the agitation.