KTR slams Congress government over neglect of Basti Dawakhanas in Telangana

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao criticised the Congress government for neglecting Basti Dawakhanas, stalled TIMS hospital projects, unpaid Anganwadi salaries, and poor sanitation. He demanded immediate action and warned of dharnas if public health issues remain unresolved.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao lashed out at the Congress government for neglecting public health in its 22-month rule. He said the Basti Dawakhanas, which were once a symbol of Telangana’s inclusive healthcare model, were left in disrepair since the party came to power. He demanded that the government complete the pending works of TIMS hospitals and also improve conditions at Basti Dawakhanas including salaries to staff and ensure supply of medicines.

As part of the BRS’s Statewide programme, Rama Rao along with former Health Minister T Rajaiah and other BRS leaders inspected the Ibrahim Nagar Basti Dawakhana in Khairatabad constituency on Tuesday. He interacted with patients and staff, who reportedly complained of unpaid salaries for nearly six months and shortage of essential medicines.

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He reminded that under the BRS government, around 450 Basti Dawakhanas and T-Diagnostic Centres were established to provide free tests and affordable healthcare. “Now, even 110 essential medicines are not available. Diagnostic services have collapsed. This shows the government’s complete apathy towards the poor,” he said.

The BRS working president also stated that flagship projects such as the four TIMS (Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences) 1,000-bed hospitals and the 2,000-bed NIMS expansion, which were 90 per cent complete during the previous regime, have been ignored. “The Congress has not even completed 10 per cent of the work,” he said, warning that the BRS would stage a dharna at TIMS hospitals if the projects were not expedited.

He announced that led by former Minister T Rajaiah, a BRS leaders’ team would prepare a detailed report on the State’s deteriorating health infrastructure and submit it to the government for action. He also demanded immediate release of pending Anganwadi salaries and a long-promised pay hike.

Expressing concern over poor sanitation and rising mosquito menace in Hyderabad, Rama Rao said the failed Congress government must wake up from its deep slumber and improve living conditions. He emphasised the need for garbage collection in Hyderabad to prevent spreading of viral fevers.

Responding to media queries over absence of Khairatabad local MLA Danam Nagender during the visit, Rama Rao ridiculed the Congress for naming Nagender as a Congress star campaigner for the Jubilee Hills bypolls. Calling it a shameless act, he asked how a BRS MLA could be a star campaigner for the Congress, despite both Nagender and the Congress denying that he did not defect to the ruling party.

“The AICC now stands for the ‘All India Corruption Committee’ led by Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.