Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Santosh Chowdhary today said that nine modern ambulance vans will be soon provided to all government hospitals in the nine assembly segments of her Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Addressing the 103rd annual Vishwakarma Day function here, she said she will bear the cost of the ambulances, estimated to be Rs 1.4 crore, from her Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD) fund.
"These vans, equipped with all modern facilities, including ECG, will benefit poor patients," she said.
Accusing Punjab government of having "obstructionist" attitude on development front, Chowdhary alleged that it was creating administrative hurdles, especially in Kapurthala district, in the way of some of her development projects.
Chowdhary said she had announced an ambulance van from her MPLAD fund for local Vishwakarma Charitable hospital last year but it had not been cleared on the pretext that the institution was a religious one.
Despite following guidelines and her repeated requests, the funds had not been given to the Trust, she claimed.
"I know that we can't give grants from the MPLAD fund to religious places. But the hospital is being run by a charitable trust named after Lord Vishwakarma," she said.
On her plans to provide a generator set worth Rs 7 lakh to local Gita Bhavan, she said Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner D S Mangat had stalled it saying it was a holiday.
Chowdhary said she will meet Mangat on November 7 to discuss these projects.
The minister also announced that an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) training school had been approved by central government for Phagwara.
"It will be set up in local Civil Hospital. Students from poor sections of the society will benefit by doing the two year course of ANMs. It will also generate employment opportunities," she said.
She also announced setting up of a trauma center at a local hospital here.
