Even as Telangana government celebrated the Health Day as part of its decennial celebrations, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi slammed chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for neglecting the dilapidated Osmania Hospital calling it a blatant injustice to the people of his constituency.
The AIMIM chief mocked the BRS Government saying it has funds for everything in the world, but for the healthcare of the poor. He wondered why health was not being prioritised.
The AIMIM, which is considered a friendly party for the BRS, has been of late targeting the ruling party. The latest attack came on a day the state chief minister laid the foundation stone for a new building of the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) to accommodate 2,000 beds making it one of the largest hospitals of the country.
Not mincing words, Owaisi said the chief minister was going to lay the foundation stone for the extension of NIMS for Rs 1,571 crore, but his demand for upgradation and new building for Osmania Hospital was being disregarded. “This is blatant injustice against the people of Hyderabad constituency. It is also a grave disservice to doctors, medical students and people of Telangana who come to Hyderabad for treatment. The dilapidated building doesn’t serve the needs of a modern hospital,” he rued in a long tweet.
He went on to add, “The restoration of the old building and construction was estimated to be Rs 560 crore. This amount is peanuts for a “prosperous” state government that seems to have funds for everything in the world. What’s the use of public money if it’s not helping the poorest get life-saving healthcare? What else could be the reason for the delay in starting work on Osmania?
The Osmania Hospital, set up by the last Nizam, is housed in a beautiful but dilapidated heritage building.
Initially, when the chief minister wanted to raze it to the ground to construct a new block there faced uproar, particularly from conservationists. Owaisi had been batting for the demolition, but the state government is yet to take an initiative in this direction.
Meanwhile, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao pointed out that in 2014, the Health Department was allocated only Rs 2,100 crore while nine years later the budget jumped to Rs 12,367 crore.
Besides, he launched KCR nutrition kits aimed at reducing anaemia and boosting haemoglobin levels among pregnant women. The kit contains one kg nutritional powder, one kg dates, 500gm of ghee, 3 bottles of iron syrup and a cup.