Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct. 13: Member of Parliament Bishnu Pada Ray has sought urgent intervention by the Union government to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, calling for an independent assessment of government hospitals, improved specialist services and greater accountability over alleged medical negligence and administrative shortcomings.
In a letter dated June 16, 2026, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and copied to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, Ray raised concerns over the functioning of G.B. Pant Hospital in Sri Vijaya Puram, the archipelago’s principal referral hospital and the teaching hospital for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences (ANIIMS).
The MP said the islands’ geographical isolation and the absence of advanced tertiary-care facilities make strengthening the existing government healthcare system particularly important. He referred to reported patient deaths during treatment, shortages of specialists, inadequate diagnostic facilities and concerns over critical-care management and hospital administration.
Ray argued that recurring allegations of medical negligence and incidents that have triggered public protests have weakened confidence in government healthcare facilities. The allegations cited in the letter have not been independently established in the material available for this report.
The representation also refers to earlier efforts to secure stronger institutional support for healthcare in the islands. Ray said he had written to the government on October 22, 2024, seeking the establishment of a small AIIMS unit in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
According to the MP, the Union Health Ministry informed him through a communication dated January 30, 2025, that the islands were not included among the 22 proposed AIIMS institutions under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
He subsequently submitted another appeal on June 8, 2025, requesting that ANIIMS be brought under the administrative control of AIIMS, New Delhi, to introduce specialist services, professional management and improved healthcare standards. The ministry reportedly informed him in a letter dated October 15, 2025, that there was no provision for converting an existing institution into an AIIMS.
Ray said these responses had not adequately addressed the islands’ healthcare requirements, particularly the need for specialist and super-specialist doctors, advanced diagnostics and improved patient care. He also questioned whether the proposed strengthening of services under the National Health Mission would be sufficient to address these gaps.
The MP cited the deaths of P. Elango, described in the letter as a founder member of the BJP and brother of the party’s island unit vice-president Sher Singh, and fisherwoman Vimala Devi among incidents that have generated public discussion and protests over alleged medical negligence.
The letter further alleges that police cases were registered against some protesters who had demonstrated over such incidents, contributing to public resentment. These claims remain allegations contained in the representation.
Ray has sought five major interventions from the Union government. These include an independent team of senior medical experts to assess G.B. Pant Hospital, ANIIMS, district hospitals and Community Health Centres; a review of the feasibility of bringing ANIIMS under the mentorship, administrative control or academic supervision of AIIMS, New Delhi, or another reputed national medical institution; and the strengthening of hospitals with specialists, modern diagnostic equipment, critical-care units and emergency medical services.
He has also called for a long-term healthcare development plan tailored to the islands’ geographical and logistical challenges and for accountability wherever administrative lapses or negligence affecting patient care are established.
The representation questions the existing administrative arrangement under the society model led by the Lieutenant Governor and argues that healthcare reform must address institutional accountability and professional management alongside infrastructure.
The letter was copied to the Lieutenant Governor, the Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Health) of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration and BJP island unit president Anil Kumar Tiwari.
Ray said residents of the strategically important and geographically isolated islands should have access to healthcare facilities comparable to those on the mainland, urging the Union government to intervene in the larger public interest.
