Will intensify stir for Aarogyasri

Ongole, Dec 9: Serving an ultimatum to the Chandrababu Naidu government to mend its ways by giving due funds to Aarogyasri and fees reimbursement schemes, Leader of Opposition, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that his Party would intensify the agitation if the demands are not met with.

‘TDP government has been watering down Aarogyasri and fees reimbursement schemes by allocating paltry funds and not clearing dues as the two flagship schemes were identified as YSR pet schemes and such apathy would not be tolerated and we will intensify the agitation if the state continues its indifference,’ YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said while participating in a dharna at the Collector’s Office here on Friday.

The Party has given a call to hold dharnas at all district collectorates in protest against the neglect of the twin schemes which were very popular and useful to the poorer sections of the society.

Bringing quality medicare and education within the reach of the weaker sections has been the motto of Aarogyasri and fees reimbursement schemes and ever since Chandrababu Naidu came to power the two schemes were being watered down by not allocating sufficient funds and removing some of the ailments from the Aarogyasri purview.

YSR has started the two welfare schemes as medicare and education are the two fields which drive the poor into indebtedness.

The number of enquiries had come down after TDP came to power as people have to wait for a long time to get medical attention even for serious ailments of dialysis for renal failure and chemotherapy for cancer.
The waitlist for such important treatments has been too long and private hospitals are refusing to take the patients as the Government has not paid the dues and has been continuing the 10-year old tariff without any revision.

TDP government has punctured the 108 ambulance service and all such steps are forcing people to knock at the doors of moneylenders defeating the very purpose of the welfare scheme, he said.

While the Department of Medical and Health has clearly written that Rs 910 crores is needed for the Aarogyasri, the state has released only a fraction of it which includes the previous year dues and the sums are paltry.

TDP government has taken out many ailments from the Aarogyasri list and the poor are badly affected by the move. Instead of increasing the funds, the state has drastically cut the size of allocation to the welfare scheme.

If this apathy continues, we will fight till the government comes down to terms and will intensify the agitation, he said.