UP: Overcharging Re 1 from patients costs govt hospital employee his job
Maharajganj (UP), Sep 18: Allegedly charging patients Rs 2 instead of the stipulated fee of Re 1 at a Community Health Centre (CHC) has cost a contractual employee his job here in eastern Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
The pharmacist was dismissed following an unannounced inspection by local BJP MLA Prem Sagar Patel at the Jagdaur CHC on Monday. The Siswa legislator said he had received complaints from the public regarding irregularities at the state-run health facility.
During his inspection, Patel discovered that patients were allegedly being charged Rs 2 instead of the official Re 1 for prescriptions by the pharmacist. Purported videos of the MLA's "surprise inspection" of the CHC have surfaced on social media.
Patel said he interacted with patients and their families and learned about other issues at the facility, including alleged delays in receiving government aid for childbirth, the absence of female doctors at night, and the practice of prescribing medicines from external medical stores.
"How dare you charge one rupee more from the poor patients?" Patel was heard telling the pharmacist in one of the videos circulating on social media.
Later in the day, the District Health Department officials confirmed that the pharmacist, identified as Sanjay, was a contractual employee hired by a third-party agency.
"The services of the employee involved in overcharging have been terminated," Additional Chief Medical Officer Rajendra Prasad told PTI on Monday evening.
In one of the purported video clips, Patel was heard telling the CHC staff that he hails from a village and understands what "poverty and helplessness" feel like.
"So there is no need for you to explain to me what was going on. I know it," the BJP MLA told the staff.
उत्तर प्रदेश के महाराजगंज के सरकारी अस्पताल में #BJP विधायक प्रेम सागर पटेल जी को सुनिए..
— Akhilesh Tiwari (अखिलेश तिवारी) (@Akhilesh_tiwa) September 16, 2024
"मैं वो विधायक नही हूं, अगर कलम रखा तो निपटना तय है.."
यहां फार्मासिस्ट द्वारा पर्ची के लिए 1 की जगह 2 रुपए ले रहा था.. pic.twitter.com/WxDJnwQPoV
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HP Cong Minority Morcha delegation meets with party leader Venugopal over mosque row
Shimla (PTI): A delegation of the Himachal Congress Minority Morcha apprised the party's central leaders on Thursday of the atmosphere of fear created in the state by targeting a particular community and staging demonstrations near mosques.
The delegation led by Iqbal Mohammad, president of the state Congress Minority Morcha, also comprised imams of various mosques. It met with Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and its Minority Morcha national president Imran Pratapgarhi in New Delhi.
In a statement here, the state Congress Minority Morcha said the situation has become tense due to demonstrations by Hindu outfits in front of mosques and efforts were being made to vitiate the atmosphere and instill fear among Muslims.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is trying to take people of all religions along but some elements are trying to spoil the atmosphere and malign the government, it added.
According to the statement, Venugopal spoke to the chief minister over the phone over the issue.
Ten people were injured during a protest demanding the demolition of a portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area last week. In Mandi, police used water cannons on protestors demanding the demolition of an unauthorised portion of a mosque in the town.
On Tuesday, residents of Kasumpti in Shimla submitted a memorandum to demolish a mosque in the area and similar demands are also coming in from Sunni and other areas in the state.
A dispute between a barber from the minority community and a local businessman in the Malyana area in the suburbs of Shimla on August 30 turned into a communal issue with Hindu groups demanding the demolition of unauthorised mosques and residents calling for the identification and verification of outsiders coming in the state.
