Start closed Andheri Hospital within a month: Cong warns protest

Mumbai: The general secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Rajesh Sharma on Monday warned that if the government does not restart Labor Hospital in Andheri within a month, then his party will launch a serious protest, alleging that the hospital is not being opened due to the conspiracy of Adani, an industrialist. 

He said that the industrialist aims to steal nearly 12 acres of land worth Rs 5,000 crore.

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This hospital has been closed for the last four years under the name of renovation. So far Rs 250 crore has been sanctioned for repairs and Rs 50 crore for the purchase of medical supplies and ESI corporation does not seem willing to re-open the hospital.

Speaking at a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Rajesh Sharma said this labor hospital was established in Andheri in 1977 and till 2008 this hospital was running under the auspices of the state government.

Subsequently, the hospital was acquired by ESI Corporation on 14 April 2008. The Employees' State Insurance Corporation modernised this hospital into a 500-bed hospital and also started a medical college. A fire accident took place in this hospital on December 17, 2018 and unfortunately 13 people died and 150 people were injured. Before the accident, OPD, IPD (350 beds), ICU and super specialty facilities were open 24 hours a day.

The hospital is equipped with all the latest facilities including Pathology, Radiology, X-ray, CT-MRI, Operation Theatre. Around 1800 to 2000 patients visit the OPD department daily, blood bank facility is also available.

"By closing the labor hospital in Andheri and playing with the health of lakhs of workers, this place is being shoved down the throat of the industrialist. We are constantly following up on this issue with the Union Ministry of Labor but we are not getting any satisfactory reply" he said. Sharma said that along with the central government, the Maharashtra government should also pay attention to the matter and clarify the facts and restart the Kamgar Hospital at the same place.

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