LoP Ashoka slams Karnataka govt as CT, MRI services halt in district hospitals
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday alleged that the state’s public healthcare system was "crumbling" under the Congress government, following protests by patients and their relatives at the Kolar district hospital after critical diagnostic services like CT and MRI were halted.
Family members said they were made to run from pillar to post for the past three days.
A similar situation prevailed at the Yadgir district hospital.
A woman at the Kolar district hospital, who took part in the protest, told reporters that her husband was suffering from severe swelling on his face and authorities were refusing the scan.
“Today, they are demanding Rs 4,000 for a scan. Where should poor people go? Are they meant to die without treatment?” she asked.
Ashoka shared on his ‘X’ handle a letter written by Krsnaa Diagnostics Limited to the National Health Mission, Karnataka, seeking the release of pending dues and warning of temporary suspension of CT and MRI services from February 18 in case of non-payment.
“Karnataka’s public healthcare system is crumbling under the Congress government,” Ashoka said in his post.
First, there were reports of medicine shortages in government hospitals. Now, the Congress government has failed to clear Rs 143.78 Crores in dues to CT & MRI service providers, pending for the last three years, he alleged.
“Rs 143.78 Crores unpaid. Three years of delay. Repeated representations ignored. This is not a minor administrative lapse. This is financial paralysis in the Health Department.”
According to Ashoka, essential diagnostic services across Karnataka are under threat. If CT & MRI services are disrupted, it is the poor and middle-class patients who will suffer - accident victims, cancer patients, stroke cases, and pregnant women requiring urgent scans.
“What exactly is Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao doing?” he asked.
A Health Department that cannot clear Rs 143.78 crores in legitimate dues for three years cannot claim to care about public health, he said.
The BJP leader demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah answer why Rs 143.78 crores were not released, why contractual obligations were ignored for three years, and why the Health Department is pushing life-saving services to the brink.
“If the Health Minister cannot ensure timely payments for essential services, he has no moral authority to continue in office. CM Siddaramaiah must take responsibility and immediately sack Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao from the Cabinet,” Ashoka added.
In its letter dated February 15 to the Mission Director, National Health Mission, Karnataka, the Pune-based diagnostics firm said that despite repeated communications over five years and 95 written representations in the last three years, its “rightful dues amounting to approx. 143.78 Crores” remained unpaid.
“Due to the non-release of our rightful dues, the situation has now reached a point where the Company's financial capacity to continue operations has been entirely exhausted,” the company said.
It sought an interim payment of a minimum Rs 50 crore within February 17, to stabilise its operations.
"Failing such release on or before February 17, we shall be left with no alternative but to temporarily suspend all CT and MRI diagnostic services across the State of Karnataka with effect from February 18, until the outstanding dues are cleared," the letter stated.
The company also said, “This is not a decision of choice, it is a decision forced upon us by continued inaction and non-payment.”
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Air India flight from Mumbai makes 'priority' landing in Bhopal after snag; return leg cancelled
Bhopal (PTI): A Bhopal-bound Air India flight from Mumbai carrying 175 persons on board made a “priority” landing here on Sunday due to a snag, an airport official said.
The aircraft landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, he said.
Consequently, the return leg of the flight from Bhopal to Mumbai, with 178 passengers booked, was cancelled, the official said.
AAI-run Bhopal airport said in a statement that Air India flight AI 633 “reported a technical issue to Air Traffic Control (ATC) during the flight from Mumbai to Bhopal”.
Immediately, all prescribed safety protocols were activated, and seamless coordination was ensured between ATC, airline ground operations, CISF and airpiort fire and rescue team of Bhopal airport, it said in a statement.
The flight, carrying 175 persons, including 166 passengers and nine crew members, landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, the airport operator said.
All necessary assistance and support were extended by the airport and airline teams as per the requirements of the flight crew, it said.
“Due to the technical issue, the aircraft was declared unserviceable, and as a precautionary measure, the return flight AI-634 (Bhopal to Mumbai) was cancelled by the airline to facilitate detailed inspection and rectification,” the statement said.
