Punjab Government on Friday said it would bear the treatment expenses of noted Punjabi playwright Ajmer Singh Aulakh, who is admitted in a private hospital in Mohali for the past few weeks.
The literary community of the State had requested the State Government to take financial responsibility of treating the 75-year-old playwright.
Punjab’s Health Minister Brahm Mohindra said, “The family of the playwright told me that a bill of Rs 8.38 lakh was mentioned as outstanding amount by the hospital, out of which they had given Rs 5 lakh.
He said, “Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had sent a cheque for Rs 2 lakh for his treatment. I also told them that Rs 1.38 lakh was waived by the hospital,” he said.
The award-winning playwright, who is seriously ill, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mohali for the past one month.
The Minister said the Government would also see whether the amount spent by Aulakh’s family on his treatment could be reimbursed to them.
“Aulakh is a reputed writer. It is the duty of the State to help him in this difficult hour. He is likely to be discharged on Saturday,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister, Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu visited the private hospital in Mohali and gave a cheque worth Rs. 8 lakh to the family members of Aulakh.
Terming Aulakh a gem in the field of Punjabi literature whose contribution in the literary annals is immense, the Minister also said that the State Government was committed to the well being of literary giants.