Chandigarh, May 25
With inhabitants of thousands of villages of Punjab suffering extreme hardships on account of the inaccessibility of basic health services due to the shutting down of rural dispensaries by the AAP Government, National Spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jaiveer Shergill has strongly flayed the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. In a statement issued here, Shergill said that the AAP Government is playing with the lives of rural Punjab by depriving them of even basic healthcare.
Stating that considering that temperatures are soaring and heat waves are expected, Shergill said, “That need of the hour is to re-open rural dispensaries, which the AAP government has been closing at lightning speed.” Taking a dig at the government, Shergill said that those at the helm of power are not even aware that during a heat wave, medicines like paracetamol and ORS Sachets are most essential, while adding, “Henceforth, this matter cannot be taken lightly and prompt action is required to re-open rural dispensaries.”
Shergill, who is also the Punjab BJP Permanent Invitee member, said, “Not just rural dispensaries be made operational but the AAP government must make sure that a Rural Medical Officer (RMO), nursing, pharmacist and class-IV staff besides requisite equipment and stock of all required medicines, should be made available at these dispensaries.”
Lambasting the AAP Government, Shergill said that shutting down rural dispensaries is completely “unjustified” and “uncalled” for. “The move has crippled the rural healthcare in Punjab”, he opined.
While referring to the 584 Aam Aadmi Clinics opened so far in Punjab by the AAP government, Shergill said, “Rural dispensaries used to cater to the villagers near to their houses, whereas these Aam Aadmi Clinics are far-off from the villages, for which elderly people have to travel several kilometers in adverse weather conditions and that too when they are ill.”
Coming down heavily on Bhagwant Mann for opening Aam Aadmi Clinics just to implement the Delhi model, the BJP National Spokesperson said, “It is extremely shameful that just to get cheap political mileage, the Chief Minister is taking such decisions that are ‘extremely detrimental’ for the health of the people of Punjab.”
Shergill said that in the last assembly session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the government had assured that proper emphasis would be given to ensure that rural people get good healthcare but after winning the Jalandhar parliamentary Bye-Poll, they have again cheated the people. He reiterated that all the rural dispensaries are the lifeline of rural healthcare and should be re-opened without any delay.
