The services being provided at the King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam took centre stage of discussion during question hour on first day of the monsoon session of Assembly on Thursday and the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) traded sarcastic remarks, while discussing facilities in sub-centres, PHCs and CHCs in the State.
In his usual witty style, BJP floor leader P. Vishnu Kumar Raju said that the Health Department was managed by Kamineni Srinivas (BJP), and now by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu himself. Mr. Srinivas made a night stay in the KGH and lost his ministership.
“I am not asking you (CM) to make a night stay at the KGH. All you have to do is to whistle and order and things will be done in a jiffy,” he said evoking a burst of laughter from the members, including Mr. Naidu.
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Yanamala hits back
Reacting swiftly, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu told the BJP members: “You all should have made a night stay.”
The BJP member said that the hospital needs more beds. It must be upgraded to a 1,000-bed facility. The Chief Minister was frequently visiting Visakhapatnam but has not paid a visit to the KGH. Mr. Naidu, intervening in the discussion, took potshots at the BJP members, saying they were too critical of the government. But, they were not taking any initiative when it came to getting funds from the Centre, The government was planning to create infrastructure and other facilities under the World Bank project. The government would construct buildings and health sub-centres in a phased manner, he said.
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Earlier, Mr. Ramakrishnudu, in a reply to question by Pachakarla Ramesh Babu, said that the government recruited 782 civil assistant surgeons, 563 staff nurses and 231 specialists. More than 2,000 posts were yet to be filled, he said.