Health services in rural Punjab have come to standstill: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday claimed that the government health services in Punjab’s rural and remote areas had come to a complete standstill

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday claimed that the government health services in Punjab’s rural and remote areas had come to a complete standstill.

Health services in rural Punjab have come to standstill: AAP

Addressing a press conference, leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema accused the previous Akali and the present Congress government for weakening the government health system in rural areas in the state.

“Till 1980, the state’s public health service was number one in the country and above national standards, but it is lagging behind Bihar in many aspects today,” he claimed.

The AAP leader said there were 4,400 sanctioned posts of doctors in 1980 and all of which were filled. “While there are still 4,400 posts, about 1,000 of them are vacant. Of these, there are 516 posts of specialist doctors which were abolished by the previous SAD-BJP government,” he said.

Cheema said the decision of the Capt Amarinder government in 2006 to hand over 1,186 rural dispensaries under the rural development and panchayats department had cost the rural population dearly. He demanded that rural dispensaries should be handed over to the health department immediately. “If this is not done, we will start a struggle to guard the interest of people,” he said.