VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Feb. 18: In order to get connected with people and solve their problems, Jharkhand health minister Banna Gupta held the Janata Darbar at the Congress headquarters here on Friday.
The Congress has picked up the tradition of the Janata Darbar so that its ministers remain connected with people and solve their problems. But there was an embarrassing moment for the minister when a petitioner Momin Ansari broke into tears after the minister declined to entertain his plea.
During the period between 2013 and 2019, as many as 155 security guards posted at Sadar hospital and other health centers in Ranchi were removed from the contractual service.
They have long been meeting the minister and had even met Chief Minister Hemant Soren for their reappointment. Momin Ansari heading the delegation of such ex-security guards came to the Janata Darbar. Their presence irked the minister and Momin Ansari said that on seeing them the minister asked them not to waste his time.
Momin Ansari, surrounded by his fellows, started crying and said that they felt cheated. Paid a notional amount of Rs 6400 monthly for their service, Momin Ansari said that they met the health minister more than two dozen times and he always assured them to solve their problem.
“We had even met the Chief Minister who had called him in front of us to meet our demand. Even the chief minister had justified our demand. During the assembly election when we were holding a sit-in demonstration Hemant Soren had come to meet us and extended his moral support. Today when we came to the Janata Darbar, the minister gave us a reply that we had not expected,” he said.
As many as 30 petitioners turned up at the Janata Darbar who shared their problems mostly related to the revenue department, police, and the health department.
At least three cases were related to the health department where petitioners sought help for better treatment.
A minor boy suffering problems in both his kidneys came to the Janata Darbar along with his parents. The minister spoke to the doctors at RIMS and instructed them to give the best ever treatment to the boy.
Another petitioner Mansoor Akhtar said that his brother suffered from kidney problems and he now requires dialysis at regular intervals. But due to poor financial conditions, the family can’t afford to take the patient to some big hospital. On this, the health minister spoke to Ranchi civil surgeon to ensure his treatment at Sadar hospital. Besides, the minister also instructed the civil surgeon to explore the possibility of whether financial assistance can be given to the patient under the Mukhya Mantri Gambhir Bimari Upchar Yojana.
