Paramedical staff burn state govt’s effigy to protest privatisation

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 22

Members of the Paramedical Health Employees Association on Tuesday staged a protest over the state government’s decision to privatise dispensaries, urban community health centres and rural health centres. To express their resentment, the protesters burnt an effigy of the state government in front of the local Civil Hospital on the Bathinda-Mansa road on Tuesday.

Scores of protesters gathered at the government hospital and started raising slogans against the state government over its decision to privatise health centres in rural and urban areas of the state.

Gagandeep Singh, president of the union, said, “We vehemently oppose the decision of the state government to privatise rural as well urban health centres. The state Health Department is running away from its responsibility of providing quality healthcare services to people. Giving it to private players would further deteriorate the quality of public healthcare services in rural areas.”

He said “By resorting to the PPP mode to provide health services, the state government is running away from its responsibility of providing free of cost treatment/ medicines to people. If implemented, the move would not only pave way for private players to plunder the state Health Department, but also to loot people.”

He further added, “A similar decision was taken by the state government when the charge of 1,186 dispensaries, being run in rural areas, was given to the Panchayati Department in 2006. The decision adversely affected the medical services being rendered in rural areas of the state.”

Meanwhile, commuters were greatly inconvenienced as scores of protesters laid siege to the Bathinda-Mansa highway. The highway remained choked with vehicles for some time before the protesters lifted the protest after burning the effigy.