The Aapla Dawakhana project in Thane has been shut since August, as employees, including nurses and housekeeping staff, have not received salaries for the last six months. These clinics once offered free medical care to the city’s urban poor.
On Friday, October 24, a group of staff members met Thane MLA Sanjay Kelkar and asked for help with getting pending dues. Many of the clinics have now turned into commercial spaces. People in need are being forced to approach private doctors and hospitals, which are more expensive.
As per reports, Kelkar blamed the contractor MedOnGo for the shutdown. It is a Bengaluru-based company hired to run 40 Aapla Dawakhana centres. The company closed the clinics in August. They did not pay rent to property owners or salaries to workers.
Now, Thane Municipal Corporation has reportedly fined the company INR 56 lakh. In a report by HT, Dr Prasad Patil said the fine has been recovered from the contractor. But he stated that the employees were hired by the contractor, not the TMC. So the contractor must pay them.
Furthermore, the clinics were supposed to run till October 31 but the company closed them two months early. Now, employees have also threatened to protest if no action is taken.
TMC has already started another plan to fill the gap. It is setting up 68 Urban Health and Wellness Centres under the National Urban Health Mission. There are 45 centres currently running. Another 20 are expected to open in the next 20 days.
Thane has a population of more than 26 lakh. Over 52% of the people live in chawls and slums. One health centre should serve 30,000 to 40,000 people as per norms. In In Thane, one centre serves around 1.5 lakh people. To reduce this burden, the TMC planned 50 “Vandaniya Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana” clinics across the city. The contractor was paid INR 150 per patient treated.
Share
Tweet
