If the hospital is not started within a month, we will stage a massive protest. Don’t fill Adani’s pockets by playing with the health of 45 lakh workers in the state, warns Sharma.
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Mumbai: The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital at Andheri has been closed for the last four years under the name of renovation. So far Rs 250 crore has been given for repairs and Rs 50 crore for the purchase of medical supplies but the ESI corporation does not seem to be willing to reopen the hospital. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) general secretary Rajesh Sharma has warned that if the government does not start this hospital within a month, then a massive protest will be launched.
Sharma made serious allegations saying that the hospital is not being opened as it is a conspiracy by the government to hand over the prime land spread over 12 acres worth Rs 5,000 crore to Adani. Speaking to newspersons at Gandhi Bhavan, Rajesh Sharma said that the labour hospital was established in Andheri in 1977 and till 2008 this hospital was running under the state government.
Subsequently, the hospital was acquired by ESI Corporation on April 14, 2008. The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation modernized this hospital into a 500-bed hospital and also started a medical college. A fire accident took place in this hospital on December 17, 2018 and unfortunately 13 people died and 150 people were injured. Before the accident, OPD, IPD (350 beds), ICU and super speciality facilities were open for all 24 hours.
The hospital is equipped with all the latest facilities including Pathology, Radiology, X-ray, CT-MRI, and Operation Theatre. About 1800 to 2000 patients visit the OPD department daily, and a blood bank facility is also available. Workers from many cities in Maharashtra were coming to Andheri hospital for treatment. Major surgeries were also done free of charge.
The Employees Insurance Scheme was launched on February 24, 1952 by former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to protect the interests of the workers and provide them with proper facilities. As of today, 3.5 crore workers across the country are members of the Employees Insurance Corporation while 45 lakh workers in Maharashtra are members.
ESIC hospitals were also set up all over the country to provide better health facilities to the workers. Kamgar Hospital in Andheri was one of the important and well-equipped hospitals, but since this hospital has been closed for the last four years, the workers have to go to Kandivali Hospital for treatment. There is a simmering dissatisfaction among the workers as the hospital is not being opened. About 250 doctors and 500 medical staff of the hospital have been employed elsewhere.
By closing the ESIC hospital in Andheri, the government is playing with the health of lakhs of workers. The land on which the hospital is standing will be handed over to the industrialist. We are constantly following up this issue with the Union Ministry of Labour but we are not getting any satisfactory reply. Rajesh Sharma said that along with the central government, the Maharashtra government should also pay attention to the matter and clarify the facts and restart the Kamgar Hospital at the same place.
