Hearing a Public Interest litigation (PIl), the Odisha High Court has asked the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) management to rethink over its decision on allowing opening of private medicine shops in the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) premises.
Source said according to the service norms of the RSP employees, the RSP management has to provide free health services to them and their dependant family members, besides to the retired employees and their spouses.
But during last many years, most RSP run health centres were closed down, while the IGH is running with shortage of doctors and paramedical staff. Even supply of many life saving medicines has been stopped in the IGH.
But instead of taking steps to improve the hospital’s condition, the RSP management has issued tender to private parties to open medicine stores in the IGH premises.
Opposing the decision, Rourkela Shramik Sangh (RSS) general secretary MDN Panickar urged the RSP CEO to reconsider the move. RSS leader DD Subudhi filed a PIl in the State High Court mentioning that with the opening of the private medicine stores, the IGH authority may stop giving free medicine to the patients.
Hearing the PIl, the court instructed the RSP to reconsider its decision within two months. It is to be mentioned here that the RSP drive was also opposed by Sundargarh druggist association and medicine shop owners of the Ispat Market.