In a blistering address from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Rajiv Bindal has spotlighted the appalling decline in Sirmaur’s healthcare infrastructure, terming it a ticking time bomb for public health. His Wednesday revelations expose systemic failures that have left locals in the lurch.
Gone are the days of affordable care: diagnostic costs have surged, patients now pay for basic registration, drug stocks are depleted, and doctor shortages plague facilities. Bindal revealed the shocking shutdown of three PHCs and a CHC, rendering remote areas medically isolated.
The leader decried the Himcare scheme’s fizzling out and the neglect of Ayushman Bharat cards, branding it an affront to Sirmaur and Nahan voters. Drawing from the Governor’s report, he contrasted the funding bonanza for other institutions like Chamba, Hamirpur, Tanda medical colleges, Chamiyana hospital, and IGMC with Nahan’s zero allocation.
Bindal, drawing from his tenure as Health Minister, hammered the three-year construction halt at Nahan Medical College. Central funds flowed generously under PM Modi, yet no progress or records. He grilled the government: ‘Why is the 11-floor structure and 500-bed facility still a dream? Why the endless delay on the 50-bed maternity hospital? What happened to nursing college funds?’
He further charged Congress brass with finger-pointing at Delhi and resorting to offensive rhetoric, met with BJP’s fierce rebuttal. Over 3.5 years, the state pocketed 27,000 crore in grants plus extras, yet closures mount, projects stall, and misery spreads. Bindal questioned the vanishing act of these funds.
This comes after BJP’s pre-budget walkout from an all-party huddle, underscoring their dissent. Amid 40 months of Centre’s robust aid in every sector, Bindal pinned the state’s regression on fiscal irregularities and governance lapses, urging immediate course correction.