Anantapur: Kidney, thalassemia patients seek free transportation facility

Anantapur: Every day nearly 60 kidney patients come to Anantapur town from far away places like Kokkanti Cross, Tanakallu, Rajapuram, Kalyandurg, Settur, Rayalacheruvu, Penukonda, Roddam and Vidapanakallu for dialysis. The patients are having hard time to reach the Government General Hospital in the absence of public transport and autorickshaws due to corona lockdown. Some of them are coming by bikes and others by private transport paying exorbitant fares.

The patients are expected to come to the hospital twice or thrice a week, which means spending nearly Rs.20,000 on transport alone. Rajendra Naik, a kidney patient from Rayadurg says that he is spending Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,000 per week on private transport to reach the GGH. Unless the government arranges separate transport or 108 ambulances to them, it will be very difficult for them to reach the government headquarters hospital, he adds.

Praja Science Vedika state president Suresh Babu told 'The Hans India' that the government should make transport arrangements for the kidney and thalassemia patients who come to the headquarters hospital from different mandals. He appealed to the District Collector Gandham Chandrudu to arrange 108 ambulance or mother and child express vans to pick up and drop the patients to and from the hospital.

He says that the patients are forced to spend their pension money on private transport. The government should take necessary steps to provide transportation to kidney and thalassemia patients who are coming to Anantapur for dialysis and blood transfusion.