In a petition to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Dhenkanal District Intellectuals’ Association has appealed to provide healthcare facilities under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) to all instead of only ration card holders.
Advocate Rudra Prakash Saran and Dr Tusarkanta Nayak on behalf of the forum have pleaded that though the State Government spends tax payers’ money for the implementation of the BSKY, it has excluded many taxpayers to avail the facilities of the healthcare scheme which looks absurd and discriminatory. Besides, they said treatment of an ailing person in corporate hospitals is so costly that not only middle class but many upper class people become bankrupt during the treatment
process. Many have had to sell their lands and houses even to release the body of their kin.
Realising the ground realities, the State Government should consider providing smart health cards to all, instead of 96.5 lakh economically vulnerable families. On behalf of the forum, Hiramayee Mishra, Puspanjali Padhee, Saroj Kumar Satpathy, Geeta Samal, Debahuti Mishra and Pravat Nalini Mishra submitted a memorandum to the district Collector.