Andhra Pradesh: Centre announces seven ESI hospitals to the state

The central government has given a good news to Andhra Pradesh by sanctioning seven more ESI hospitals in the state. Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar in response to a written question by TDP MP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday said that a total of seven hospitals will be set up in Guntur, Vizianagaram, Kakinada, Penukonda, Visakhapatnam, Nellore and Achuthapuram, which have been approved in principle by the ESI Corporation.

Another question was answered that the construction of a 100-bed ESI hospital in Vizianagaram would be completed by March 2023. On the other hand, Union Urban Development minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that under the Smart Cities Mission, the centre has released Rs 1,669.7 crore to four smart cities in Andhra Pradesh. The state government has also released Rs 1,358 crore under its share. The minister asserted that centre has so far spent Rs 1,385.49 crore as its stake.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Kishan Reddy said that Telangana had ranked 6th and Andhra Pradesh 9th in suicides. "In 2019, there were 6,465 suicides in AP and 7,675 in Telangana," Kishan Reddy said. He further added that Rs 29.46 crore has been released to Andhra Pradesh under the Nirbhaya Fund.