OUJAC seeks alms for 'ailing' Niloufer

Takes to streets over poor facilities at hospital and rise in infant deaths

Hyderabad: Members of Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC), on Tuesday, resorted to collection of alms in front of the Niloufer hospital, as part of protest against inadequate allocation of funds to the hospital for the improvement of infrastructure. A The hospital was in news for its poor facilities and death of infants recently. The protesting JAC activists were taken into custody and shifted to a police station.

Speaking on the occasion, OUJAC spokesman Krishank Manne demanded the release of adequate funds immediately. The government should act immediately in order to avoid more number of infant deaths, he urged. The government had been frittering way the time by forming committees to look into the issues which it could not attend to immediately, he flayed. Lashing out at the government, he said that there was inordinate delay in releasing funds for the development of the hospital.

He demanded the government to inaugurate the 450-bedded newly constructed building and faulted the irregularities in the government and corrupt officials for frequent deaths of infants in the hospital.A "Due to lack of facilities, at least 10 infants were dying in the hospital daily. Indifference of the government in allocating funds and providing adequate infrastructure to the hospital can be attributed to the vested interests that were out to for promoting hospitals in private sector," he remarked.

The protesters collected Rs 1,350 during the alms collection. "We would have collected thousands of rupees if we were allowed to beg for more time," said Shashi, a member. A The superintendent of the hospital Dr Ganganath requested the members to arrange the money in the form of a demand draft (DD) when the members tried to handover the money after being released from the jail. Srinivas, Shashikanth, Nikhil, Ranjith, Srikanth, Dinesh were among those who participated in the protest.