ESIC Hospital is distant dream for Butibori industries

By Praveen Vighre :

Mukund Muley claimed that he had made efforts and had taken follow-up for the sanction of the hospital

There seems to be no light at the end of tunnel. The demand of industries in Butibori for setting up ESIC Hospital is now a distant dream. The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) during its 179th meeting conducted on December 5 under the chairmanship of Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), has taken some very important decisions towards improvements in its service delivery mechanism. In order to reduce the stress of ESIC beneficiaries due to delay in the treatment and non-provision/unavailability of few super-specialty departments doctors in ESIC Medical College and Hospital Sanathnagar (Telangana), K K Nagar (Chennai) and Faridabad (Haryana), the Corporation in its meeting approved the proposal for creation of additional new super specialty posts viz.

Oncology, Neurology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology etc. It will help providing these super-specialty medical facilities in medical colleges/hospitals besides cutting down tertiary case referrals and consequent SST expenditure. Considering the high bed occupancy in ESIC Hospital, Durgapur the approval for upgradation from existing 150 beds to 250 beds was accorded in the meeting, along with other sanctions. Surprisingly, the bhoomipujan of the proposed 100-bedded hospital at Butibori was performed by Santosh Kumar Gangwar himself in Butibori is still a distant dream. Sources informed that the proposed place of 2 acre of land allotted for the hospital was insufficient. New site of 5 acre has been allotted and the sanction map of the hospital is pending for approval.

CA Milind Kanade, Secretary of Butibori Manufacturers Association (BMA) while talking to The Hitavada, said, “On July 15, 2018, ESIC Hospital was inaugurated at Butibori. The construction work of the building is yet to commence. Hospital at Butibori is desperately needed as Somawari Quarter Hospital is 30 km away and it is not well staffed. In case of any emergency, patients have to visit private hospital. Most of the times ESIC did not reimburse the amount paid at the private hospital.

Therefore Hence Full fledged hospital at Butibori is required.” Butibori is five-star industrial area where big and medium size industries are operating. Mukund Muley, Secretary INTUC said, “It is really disgusting that the Government which makes huge claims fails to implement. By this time, the hospital would have been fully functional.” He claimed that he had made efforts and had taken follow-up for the sanction of the hospital. “I have personally visited several ESIC hospitals in Hyderabad and other places and was surprised to see the quality of medical treatment the workers were receiving there. We are also contribution like other workers in the country. Why we are kept away from our legitimate rights,” he added.