The shifting of a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) operated dispensary from Kakatiyanagar near Mehdipatnam to Gachibowli, located 10 kilometres further, has not gone down well with beneficiaries.
On Thursday, in a meeting with CGHS authorities in Hyderabad, the beneficiaries condemned the move to shift the dispensary and forced authorities to reconsider the move. Under fire and cornered by a host of associations representing senior citizens, CGHS authorities issued assurances to explore the possibility of setting up an alternative dispensary in Kakatiyanagar.
“We will contact our higher-ups in New Delhi to try and set up a dispensary at Kakatiyanagar. We have to identify a viable building for that,” AD, CGHS, Hyderabad, Dr. CLN Prasad said. Kakatiyanagar dispensary was providing medical services to nearly 10,000 CGHS cardholders from the area. “In addition to travelling 10 kilometres, we also have to walk a kilometre from the main road to reach the dispensary at Gachibowli.
Moreover, there is no shelter to protect ourselves from sun and there are no toilet facilities. Is this the way you treat senior citizens?” association members asked.
On their part, CGHS authorities maintained that the new building at Gachibowli was State-owned and there was no need to pay rent, which was the reason for shifting.
“The old building at Kakatiyanagar was dilapidated . Already, out of 10,000, nearly half of the CGHS beneficiaries have agreed to utilise services at Gachibowli and we will try to set up a smaller facility at Kakatiyanagar for the remaining beneficiaries,” Dr. Prasad explained.
