Telangana Employees Cry Foul Over Health Cards

Alleging discrimination and disrespect by the state government and Andhra officials over the distribution of health cards to employees, members of the Telangana Gazetted Officers Association, on Thursday, barged into the Secretariat, where a review meeting on the subject, under the chairmanship of chief secretary Minnie Mathews, was going on.

Sensing the situation, the officials postponed the meeting immediately. Later, the chief secretary announced that the meeting would held on Friday.

Meanwhile, addressing the media after participating in the protest at the Secretariat, TGOAs president V Srinivas Goud said that former chief minister Dr. Y S Rajashekhar Reddy had agreed to provide health cards to government employees, but that officials from the Andhra region were trying to deprive the Telangana employees from the benefit.

Demanding separate health cards (instead of the Rajiv Arogyasri card) for the employees, he alleged that the officials were benefitting from corporate hospitals of their region through the Arogyasri Trust.

Srinivas Goud demanded that the state government upgrade Osmania Hospital, Gandhi Hospital, NIMS, Kakatiya and other hospitals in the Telangana region by releasing funds and entrusting to them the implementation of schemes related to them. (INN)