Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has criticised the prevailing tendency to charge “hefty” fees in hospitals run by an acclaimed spiritual organisation in the State, saying that such bodies should not be swayed by profit motive.
“It is quite unfortunate to note that only influential and financially sound patients can afford to undergo treatment at the well-equipped hospital run by the spiritual organisation,” Mr. Vijayan said, narrating the experience shared by a known personality.
“It is up to people to assess whether such “pseudo spiritual” organisations are actually serving the interest of the deprived and marginalised groups as they are swayed by profit motive,” Mr. Vijayan said without naming the organisation.
The Chief Minister was addressing a function to hand over keys of the 36 well-laid houses for the endosulfan victims built in a span of six months by the Kerala chapter of the Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust in five-acre revenue land at Iriya in Pullur-Periye panchayat, some 12 km east of Kanhangad, on Thursday.
Aid for victims
How could one find elements of spirituality if such organisations were swayed by profit motive even though those hospitals provided expert medical care, he wondered.
Addressing the function at the Kaatumadam locality where the 500-sq ft houses are built, with a mini-township energised by solar plant is coming up with an Ayush centre, BUDS school, children’s park, and an open-air theatre, Mr. Vijayan said his government was committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the victims and had already disbursed Rs.1 lakh each to 127 victims and Rs.1,000 as Onam allowance to the distressed families.
‘Review beneficiary list’
K.N. Ananth Kumar, founder and executive director of the trust, urged the State to go for re-examination of the official list of the victims as he had found quite a few discrepancies in them.
Mr. Vijayan urged the trust to submit their scrutinised list to the State for correcting the anomalies. He said the trust would start work on another 36 houses in the worst endosulfan-hit Enmakaje village next month before embarking on a similar project in Kinnanur-Karindalam village.
