FOR A CAUSE: CPI (M) leaders and activists taking out a procession before the commencement of public meeting at Anantapur on Friday.

ANANTAPUR: The issuance of a GO by the State Government recently handing over a Public Health Centre (PHC) at Gudibanda in Anantapur district to a non-governmental organisation was a prelude to privatisation of the health sector, State secretary of CPI (M) B.V. Raghavulu alleged here on Friday.

Speaking after visiting the relay fast launched by the United Medical and Health Employees Union here, protesting the handing over of the PHC to an NGO, he alleged that the State Government was conspiring to privatise even the teaching hospitals in the years to come.

If it is not opposed now, the development would be highly detrimental to the interests of the poor, he cautioned.

Spiritual leaders

There was nothing wrong in the spiritual leaders running hospitals, but it was not expected of them to run the hospitals taken from the Government. They could as well set up hospitals on their own, like Satya Saibaba had set up super-specialties hospitals at Puttaparthi and Bangalore without any Government help.

He said the State Government appeared to be bent upon privatising the Government institutions one by one.

CITU leaders M.A. Gaffoor, M. Imtiaz, A.G. Rajmohan and others visited the relay fast camp on the premises of DM&HO's office.

Yeoman services

Meanwhile, district president of the employees union L. Varaprasada Rao said the handing over of Gudibanda PHC to Swami Vivekananda Integrated Rural Centre of Karnataka was a sign of ignorance of the yeoman services rendered by the PHC in the past.

He mentioned that the PHC had won two State level gold medals in the implementation of family planning and immunisation programmes.

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