JNIMS in Crisis – A Shameful Reflection of State Neglect

When the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) was established, it was envisioned as a beacon of public healthcare for Manipur — a state struggling with geographical isolation and limited medical resources. Yet today, that very institution stands as a symbol of administrative apathy, bureaucratic failure, and moral negligence. Under President’s Rule, when governance is supposed to be under the direct watch of the Union Government through the Governor, one would expect stricter oversight and greater efficiency. Instead, JNIMS has been left to decay — both physically and institutionally — while the authorities in charge turn a blind eye to its mounting crisis.
The Relief Committee of JNIMS has now been pushed to the extreme — preparing to submit an appeal to the President of India. This is not just a bureaucratic gesture; it is a cry of desperation from an institution that has been systematically ignored by those who were duty-bound to protect it. The committee’s memorandum paints a grim picture: chronic staff shortages, outdated or dysfunctional medical equipment, and senior doctors resigning out of frustration. These are not isolated complaints — they are symptoms of deep-seated mismanagement that has crippled Manipur’s most vital public healthcare facility.
What is most alarming is that the Commissioner of Health, who also serves as the Secretary to the Governor, has allowed such a collapse under his very nose. How can one justify this indifference when even basic administrative tasks — such as maintaining access roads to a state-run hospital — have been ignored? The roads leading to JNIMS, severely damaged during the floods of 2024 and 2025, remain in deplorable condition. For patients already battling illness and despair, this becomes another ordeal. Pregnant women, the elderly, and emergency patients must navigate potholes and broken pathways to reach the hospital — a journey that, for some, might mean the difference between life and death.
This is not merely an infrastructural failure; it is a failure of governance. President’s Rule was expected to restore order and accountability. Instead, what we are witnessing is bureaucratic inertia and a growing sense of abandonment within state-run institutions. If the Governor’s administration cannot ensure even the most basic facilities in a government hospital, one must ask — what exactly is being governed in Manipur?
Adding to this grim scenario is the disturbing mismanagement of nursing staff, which has been repeatedly reported by Imphal Times. Nursing personnel — the backbone of hospital operations — are reportedly overworked, irregularly scheduled, and poorly supervised. Instances of negligence, internal favoritism, and lack of discipline have surfaced, revealing a deeply fractured system of accountability. Patients and attendants have often complained about unresponsive staff and inadequate bedside care, yet no visible corrective measures have been taken by the hospital administration.
The neglect is not limited to human resources. The administrative leadership of JNIMS has also failed to prioritize essential procurement and maintenance. Reports suggest that several critical medical departments function without proper diagnostic tools or sufficient manpower. In such a setting, medical professionals are forced to work under impossible conditions, risking burnout and medical errors. The resignation of senior doctors should have served as a wake-up call, but instead, it has been met with silence.
JNIMS was meant to serve as a pillar of hope, not a monument of neglect. If the Relief Committee’s planned appeal reaches Rashtrapati Bhavan, it will be an indictment of both the Governor’s administration and the central oversight mechanism. It is deeply ironic that during a period of direct central control, the state’s most important healthcare institution finds itself in its weakest state.
The question is simple — who will take responsibility? The people of Manipur deserve answers. A functioning healthcare system is not a privilege; it is a constitutional obligation. The Governor’s Secretariat cannot continue to hide behind procedural excuses while lives are being endangered.
It is time for urgent action — not committees, not empty assurances, but tangible reforms. The access roads to JNIMS must be repaired without delay. The administration must conduct a full-scale audit of staffing, infrastructure, and management practices. Accountability must be fixed where it belongs — at the top.
Manipur’s healthcare system is bleeding, and JNIMS is its most visible wound. If those in power continue to look away, history will remember this as an era when governance failed not just an institution, but the people it was meant to heal.