Bill on rural service is not intended to harass medical graduates: UT Khader

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Koppal, Oct 27, 2013: Minister for Health and Family Welfare U.T. Khader has reiterated that the Bill that makes one year of ruraal service mandatory for medical graduates was not intended to harass them.

He was speaking to presspersons after a meeting to review the programmes taken up by his department here on Saturday.

“The Bill, which is awaiting Presidential assent, is not aimed at harassing medical professionals. The intention is to provide better healthcare services to people in rural areas. The government spends Rs. 35 lakh and Rs. 60 lakh of the taxpayers’ money on each MBBS and postgraduate medical student respectively. However, medical graduates are reluctant to go to rural areas and serve people. The Bill will make rural service mandatory,” he said.

The doctors paid Rs. 9 crore to the government in the form of penalties last year for not taking up rural service and it had increased in the current year, he said.

Mr. Khader attributed the increase in infant deaths in the State to several factors such as rise in population, child marriage, superstition, migration and social stigma. “There is a need to create awareness in rural areas to prevent infant deaths. Officials and staff of the Department of Health and Family Welfare should take the lead,” he said.

The Minister said that a committee, under the chairmanship of Nandakumar, head of the Community Health Unit, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, would be set up to conduct a study on infant deaths.

Visits to families

“The team will visit every family where an infant death was reported and submit a detailed report to the government. It will look into the issue from all angles, including socio-economic and medical, and come out with recommendations,” he said.

The Minister said that he would welcome it if the government handed over the Ujire rape and murder case to the CBI. Speaking about the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s remarks on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Mr. Khader claimed that everyone knew that what Mr. Yeddyurappa did when he was in power. “He [Mr. Yeddyurappa] made everyone bow their heads. But, Mr. Siddaramaiah is making people raise their heads through his pro-people and development works. We were all with the Chief Minister,” he said.

To a query on the protests being organised by the BJP against the State government, the Minister replied: “BJP’s target is the upcoming Lok Sabha polls whereas our target is development for future generations.”

Courtesy: The Hindu