LAHORE - Grouping and tussle among doctors and paramedical staff led to the closure of Janki Devi Hospital, depriving huge population in congested Qila Gujjar Singh, Garhi Shahu and surrounding areas of medical facilities. The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) officials, however, gives two contradictory reasons for what they say only 'temporary closure of Janki Devi Hospital, a 25-bed and 06 private room healthcare centre also attending 70-80 patients daily at the OPD. After closing down Janki Devi Hospital, the ETPB displayed a banner at the building gate inscribed with 'the hospital is closed for renovation. Interestingly, the same banner also provides the information that the 'hospital is closed, as the federal government has not released grant. The insiders, however, believe that major reason behind the closure of the hospital is internal strife among doctors and paramedical staff that caused the perturbed ETPB high ups to close down Janki Devi Hospital till resolution of the prevailing problem. The doctors and paramedical staff of Janki Devi Hospital are getting far less salaries as compared to other healthcare centres in the City. The staff even did not get 50 percent raise is salaries, given to government employees at the start of current fiscal year. Janki Devi Hospital is a neat and clean health care centre providing indoor, outdoor maternity facilities and round the clock emergency in thickly populated areas for the last 68 years. Janki Devi Hospital, established in 1942, has hundreds of registered pregnant women, majority of them from poor and low-income segment of the society, coming to the OPD for routine medical check up and intended their baby to be delivered at the same health care centre. There is no other proper healthcare centre in the close vicinity. The hospital is providing affordable and good healthcare facilities. The registered patients will face serious problems as they will have to go to other hospital at the time of delivery and spend huge amount, said Naseer Ahmed, husband of a registered patient. The resident of Qila Gujjar Singh said that the quarters concerned should make sincere efforts for reopening of Janki Devi Hospital that was providing state of the art facilities to the poor segment of society.