A huge uproar has started in the capital Shimla over the decision to shift Himachal Pradesh’s only mother-child Kamla Nehru Hospital (KNH) to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC). Akhil Bharatiya Janavadi Mahila Samiti and opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have opened a front against this step of the Sukhu government.
Mahila Samiti staged a strong protest outside the hospital, terming the state government as ‘anti-women’ and warning of an all-out fight if the decision is not withdrawn.
‘Sukhu government is insulting the freedom fighter’
Falma Chauhan, State Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Samiti, led the demonstration and made serious allegations against the government. He said that this hospital is 102 years old and is named after freedom fighter Kamla Nehru. Shifting it is a direct insult to the freedom fighter.
Falma Chauhan said, “At present, pregnant women in KNH are getting all the medical facilities under one roof. By shifting it to IGMC, women will face a lot of inconvenience. The government actually wants to abolish this mother-child hospital and build ‘MLA Hostel’ here, which is a grave injustice to the women of the state. We will not allow the hospital to be shifted at any cost.”
‘Treatment has become expensive, people are being played with’
Along with Janwadi Mahila Samiti, BJP has also strongly opposed this decision. BJP Shimla District President Keshav Chauhan alleged that the state government is playing with the health of the public and especially women in the name of shifting the hospital.
He told that the government has also increased the prices of health services. Chauhan said, “The medical test which used to cost Rs 30 in KNH earlier has now been reduced to Rs 100. The fare of special wards has been increased from Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 and Rs 2000. If the Sukhu government does not immediately withdraw its anti-people decision of shifting KNH, then BJP will take to the streets and launch a big and violent movement against it.”