MARGAO: South Goa district Youth Congress chief Mahesh Nadar hit out at the Health Minister Vishwajit Rane for neglecting the health infrastructure in the state which, he said, resulted in the collapse of the portion of the Urban Health Centre in Margao. Addressing the media outside the Urban health Centre at Margao, Nadar said that the neglected infrastructure in the state was posing a threat to the life and limb to not only the staff who were working at the premises but also the patients especially young children who visit the centre on a regular basis to avail of vaccinations, first aid and consultations with the doctors on duty.
“We are very lucky that the collapse happened at a time when no one was around, else this would have been a human tragedy that would have made national headlines,” Nadar said. “The blame for this mishap falls squarely on the shoulders of the health minister who is only concerned with building new infrastructure for the state, for obvious reasons, while simultaneously neglecting the maintenance of existing health infrastructure,” Nadar said. He also highlighted that the BJP government should concentrate on infrastructure maintenance rather than wasting money on events and event management companies.
Across the state, from health centres to rural dispensaries infrastructure is crumbling and remains so without any attention from the government. The health minister’s belated action and to now say that he will approach this issue aggressively reeks of hypocrisy. “All the health minister cares about is insulting nurses of Goa Medical College on camera to try and fool the people into believing that he is a man who means business. We all know what kind of business he really means,” Nadar said.
Congress member Yogesh Nagvekar said, “So many people get visit this health centre, Lives could have been lost. The government is responsible for this incident. It is not concerned about Goa’s heritage buildings. They are not bothered about maintenance, there is no annual assessment of such buildings, only self-interest. They have completely failed on this issue. This is a collapse of the administration. In Margao, there are around 35 such buildings that pose a threat to the public. We condemn this incident.”
Party member Melvin Fernandes said, “It looks like this incident was deliberate and the collapse was allowed to happen. The government only wants privatisation. When this building collapses tomorrow, they will hand over the land to a private player to rebuild it claiming lack of funds.”
Another Congress member Pradip Naik said, “This is an eye-opener for Margao citizens and the government as well. As this is a heritage structure, there should have been regular structural and stability audits by the government. This has not happened,” Anwar Sayed and other Congress members were also present.