Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan on Friday launched his 24- hour hunger strike at a guest house in S.M. Puram on the outskirts of Srikakulam. He would continue the protest in public on Saturday, a party release said.
Mr. Pawan’s protest was to step up pressure on the government to declare health emergency in the Uddanam region and appoint Health Minister immediately.
The JSP was also insisting that the Chief Minister should himself oversee the relief measures, taking a cue from the President of Sri Lanka, who, it said, was taking care of the kidney patients in his country by setting up an exclusive wing in his office.
Mr. Pawan suspended his bus yatra on Thursday and Friday citing inadequate security, and announced that he would launch a hunger strike in support of the chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients of the Uddanam region.
In response to his announcement, the district administration had given a detailed statement explaining the initiatives taken for the benefit of the patients.
Charter of demands
Listing the party’s charter of demands, JSP vice-president B. Mahender Reddy said the government should set up mobile medical screening centres in villages, appoint more paramedical staff, set up more dialysis centres, ensure supply of sufficient medicines free of cost, and arrange free transport to the patients who need to go to Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, or any other place for treatment.
