Samajwadi Party president and Leader of Opposition Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Uttar Pradesh government, alleging collapse of public health infrastructure in the state during the last five years.
“The deputy chief minister and health minister is now known as ‘chhapamaar mantri’ (raid minister) but no positive change is visible on the ground in all 75 districts of the state. The health minister is like a ‘jholachhaap’ doctor (quack) visiting district hospitals and conducting raids, but people are interested in results. People are waiting for the delivery of services as promised by the BJP in the run-up to the assembly elections,” Akhilesh said.
He also alleged that the government, under the garb of providing health facilities of global standards, was pushing the agenda of privatisation of public health infrastructure.
“The government claims to have provided medical facilities of global standards across the state but there has been no improvement in the medical facilities in the state since the Covid outbreak. I recently visited Kannauj medical colleges and found over a dozen dogs roaming there even as many departments were locked for the lack of staff,” Akhilesh said.
“The government has stalled the process of recruitment in government hospitals and state-run medical colleges. Instead of making regular appointments against vacancies, the services are being outsourced to private sectors,’’ Akhilesh said, adding: “This has deprived the candidates of Schedule Caste and Other Backward Class even as the right to reservation in jobs has been given to them by the Constitution.”
“UP health minister is a one-man flying squad who keeps conducting raids across the state. Despite hectic efforts of the deputy chief minister, no change is visible in the district hospitals, community health centres and primary health centres,” Akhilesh alleged.
“The ambulance services (102 and 108) have collapsed. The response time is high in urban areas and even if one gets the ambulance on time, there is no arrangement of proper treatment in government hospitals. Doctors are not available, medicines are in short supply and machines of pathological labs and other medical equipment are out of order,” he alleged.