Hyderabad: CITU vice-president Mallikarjun on Friday demanded the provision of all medicines in ESI dispensaries

Ramachandrapuram: Sangareddy district CITU vice-president Mallikarjun on Friday demanded the provision of all medicines in ESI dispensaries, by purchasing them, and appointment of doctors there for treating all ailments.

Addressing the participants in dharna in front of R C Puram ESI dispensary, as part of the State-wide protest against shortage of medicines in the ESI dispensaries, he asserted that these dispensaries were being run with the salaries of workers and management contributions and not at the mercy of governments.

The CITU leader stated that funds in thousands of crores were remaining unspent in the ESI corporation and alleged that officials were looting money on wasteful expenditure and in the guise of scams, rather than spending for treating workers and their families. He hit out at the ESI staff for making workers and their families go round, without conducting health check-ups/tests, as they could not afford private treatment, denying provision of even BP and diabetes tablets.

Mallikarjun questioned the justification of making hundreds of patients wait for doctors and medicines at dispensaries and sending them back citing lack of medicines, while questioning for whose benefit the ESI was being run. He alleged that the ESIC and the government were 'colluding' to deprive treatment to workers and to scrap the organisation in favour of private hospitals.

The CITU leader warned of taking up a massive agitation if remedial measures were not taken to improve the dispensaries with regard to treatment of workers and provision/purchase of all required medicines. In this regard, he said a dharna was being organised at ESI directorate to focus attention on the issues.

The participants in the dharna included CITU district vice-president Narsimha Reddy, State leaders Panduranga Reddy, Nageswar Rao, Srinivas, Ram Reddy, Seshagiri Rao.