Arogyasri Is A Picture Of Neglect Under Chandrababu

Kalavacharla, Vizianagaram District: Today, my padayatra moved through Kella, Rellipeta and Gurla villages of Cheepurupalli constituency. The tragic story of Amballa Sitamma  from Kella village moved me deeply. She has a son, her only child, who suffered serious spinal injury following an accidental fall seven years ago. The accident rendered him bed-ridden. She runs the household with the meagre wages her husband gets as a daily wage labourer. To her misfortune, her husband met with an accident seven months ago. His urinary system got damaged and when they went for treatment they were told that the healthcare scheme, Arogyasri, did not apply to them. They do not have the resources for expensive medical treatment which involves thousands of rupees. At the same time she has to attend to her husband and son who need the care-giving which children require. Added to everything else, she had to go for her daily work as a labourer. Her tale of sorrows was a very painful one indeed.

Bhavani of Koduru told me about the sad state of affairs with respect to 108 services. When her neighbour Gauri experienced labour pains, she immediately called 108 for an ambulance. The response she got was that the vehicle had a flat tire and that there was no staff. They took her in an auto, which usually carries school children, to the hospital. The trouble she went through was beyond description.

It is ironic that this pioneering healthcare initiative which was started by my father, the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy and which is being emulated by 16 other states, and countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, has been completely watered down in its home state. It is a tragedy of our times that such a visionary healthcare scheme has been neglected and its purpose totally defeated in Andhra Pradesh where it originated.

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Viswabrahmins from Budarayavalasa  met me. This village is well known for its brass utensils. There was a time when the villagers would make brass utensils for many families and these would be sent to other states also. However, this cottage industry suffered enormously due to lack of government patronage and many families were forced to migrate to other places. These craftsmen who were respected by the community are now reduced to daily wage labourers. They expressed their anguish at the neglect of their condition.

Farmers belonging to Penubarthi and Goshada villages met me. The right canal of Thotapalli Barrage could be seen from there, and yet, to their misfortune, their fields did not get water needed for irrigation, they said. As regards, the smaller canal, it was a symbol of government neglect, they said. During my father's tenure, he listened to the problems of the farmers of the region and decided to find a solution after he came to power. Thus the Thotapalli project took shape and during his time, he ensured that 95% of the work was completed. That the remaining 5% of the work on the project could not be completed by the Chandrababu Naidu government reflects the rulers' apathy. This itself holds a mirror to Chandrababu's fake love for farmers.

I have a question for the chief minister—there are more than 100 vehicles of the 108 services in the state. Are you not deceiving the people of the state by claiming on your official dashboard that 95% of the vehicles are operational? Who is pocketing the amounts being paid for these vehicles? Is it not true that there is rampant corruption with regard to the acquisition and operation of 108 vehicles? Is it not a fact that the Hon'ble High  Court had issued a notice on this?

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