Agartala, Oct 1 (TIWN) After a series of violent attacks on doctors, health staffs and hospitals during the past years, the Tripura government has been enacting an act to protect the health and hospital properties and medical service personnel from violent mobs.A health department official told reporters Tuesday that after a report from the Tripura assembly select committee a bill has been passed in the house Monday following the recurrence of incidents of violence inside the hospitals in Tripura after alleged negligence in treatment to the patients.

In line with the same act of the Maharashtra government, “The Tripura medicare service persons and medicare service institutions (prevention of violence and damage to property) bill, 2013, was prepared and will be an act after governor Devanand Konwar gave his assent.

The Bill, also supported by the opposition Congress legislators, said “Violence against medicare service person or causes any damage to the property of any health service institution, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term up to three years and with fine which may extend to Rs 50,000. The offence would be treated as cognizable and non-bailable.”

It said that the incidents of atrocities on the health care personnel, starting from attendants to doctors of the hospital, both in government and private sector and damage to property of health service institutions are rampant in the state causing unrest in medicare service professionals resulting in serious obstacles in the health service.

Health minister Tapan Chakraborty while talking in the house about the bill said : “It is, therefore, felt necessary to prepare a special act for the defense of the service providers and also to stop damage to property of the health service institutions of the state,”

Mr Chakraborty said : “The bill intended to create atmosphere of providing service free from mental distress by the professionals of health institutions of the state.”