Worsening health sector in Uttarakhand will be the key issue in the forthcoming elections

There are indications that deteriorating health sector conditions in Uttarakhand will be the key campaign point to be used by opposition parties in Uttarakhand assembly election campaigns.

The present government of Uttarakhand and the previous governments ruled by two national parties have been claiming of improving the health services and resolving peoples’ grievances but despite the state under immense fiscal deficit of more than 65 thousand crores and making of tall claims of their various achievements with scores of inaugurations n launching of new over ambitious, projects, not being actually implemented on the ground, the youth and women are the worst sufferers.

The deteriorating health sector is the worst with youths and students, the most infuriated and highly exasperated lot with pregnant women and their new born infants dying in the way due to lack of ambulances, timely and adequate medical treatment, non availability of doctors n surgeons, lack of medicines, medical equipments, machines like ultrasound and x rays missing or unrepaired and above all doctors and paramedics disappearing during duty hours, with hospital and health centres not in adequate numbers.

Majority of the doctors, not ready to serve in the interior hills are busy drawing handsome salaries from government and simultaneously running private clinics n nursing homes minting tremendous profits, leaving the rural population at the mercy of Almighty.

What is shocking is the traumatic fact that that several medical colleges like Almora and Rudrapur medical colleges are closed with NEET aspirants on the road struggling hard demanding opening of these medical colleges n starting of the MBBS session from this year but of no avail.

The chief minister and the health minister Pushkar Singh Dhani and Dhan Singh Rawat has turned deaf ears towards the struggling meritorious medical students intending to become MBBS doctors and serve the suffering inhabitants of Uttarakhand due to lack of doctors, medical facilities and necessary basic treatments n well equipped hospitals, succumbing to their untreated diseases.

Hundreds of pregnant women and their new born n some before being born have died compelling us to hang our heads in shame.

Uttarakhand has become 21 years old attaining youth hood but unfortunately pregnant women are dying for want of treatment, their infants as well, youths being massively unemployed becoming frustrated, over three thousand primary n middle schools closed with lakhs of people migrating to plains making thousands of villages vacant.

The frustrated un employeed youth are allegedly becoming addicts of drugs and liquor hugely prevalent in Uttarakhand and liquor mafia, land sharks, a vast network of builders, corrupt politicians and their unholy nexus with illegal miners n contractors enjoying the fruits of power in collaboration with politicians, thus throwing to winds the concept for which Uttarakhand separate state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh after incessant struggle and forty six sacrifices of young boys, senior citizens and women while relentlessly struggling to achieve statehood. The 2019-20 CAD report had made startling revelations terming the health services in Uttarakhand as worst with several women dying in the initial stages of pregnancy due to lack of timely and adequate medical treatment

It may be recalled that the CAG report has revealed that the health services in Uttarakhand are the worst and non accessible to majority of the people of Uttarakhand with patients succumbing to their illnesses before reaching to hospital.

The lack of road connectivity with certain villages and shortage or non availability of ambulances have resulted in patients, pregnant women being carried in palanquins or make shift wooden Dandi Kandi to ferry them several kilometres on shoulders, thereby not reaching to hospitals in time, either delivering babies in the way or dying after losing lot of blood etc.

Though the Uttarakhand health budget has been enhanced to Rs. 2,680 crores for 2020-21during former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat’s tenure from Rs 2.082 crores of the previous year, the sorry state of affairs in health sector still continuing has invited tremendous criticism from the oppostion Congress as well as Aam Admi Party.
Shame.