AYUSH DOCTORS KORAPUT UNIT SUBMITTED MEMORANDUM TO NAVEEN PATNAIK.
Nishapati Nayak,Odishabarta
KORAPUT:AYUSH doctors posted in Odisha under the National Health Mission (NHM) project have alleged that they are not covered under social security schemes despite a Central government directive. From the very beginning, these doctors have been working in all residential schools in Koraput district.
These doctors were then used to examine the health and data collection of state and foreign returnees in custody at their homes, followed by various orders from the district magistrate, CDMO, and the medical officer in charge. They were assigned to the Covid Care Center or Covid Hospital if they were diagnosed with Covid-19 .
Not only that, in Odisha’s border areas such as Sunki (Odisha-Andhra), Chandili (Odisha-Chhattisgarh) and Almunda (Odisha-Chhattisgarh), migrants from different districts, states and abroad have to undergo health check-ups and send them to government-sanctioned detention centers. “It simply came to our notice then they have neither a stable job nor a secure future, but whether it’s Covid-19 or a storm or flood, any kind of epidemic, Japanese encephalitis fever (Malkangiri), these doctors are on guard at all times during the emergency. Sadly, the government always forgets about the use of AYUSH doctors.
While the government has announced various incentives and life insurance for all regular health workers during this covid -19, the AYUSH doctor has forgotten about it, so there has been intense dissatisfaction in the AYUSH doctor’s palace.
A delegation from the association met Mr. Deben pradhan,ADM ,Koraput and handed over a memorandum addressed to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
While speaking to our house, Association president Dr.Ashwini Kumar pradhan said AYUSH doctors are posted at Community Health Centres in extremely remote pockets of the State, where MBBS doctors are reluctant to work, including Naxal-infested places and areas in the Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput (KBK) districts like us.
“It is ironic that we are not yet covered under social security schemes like the Employees’ Provident Fund [EPF] and Group Insurance Scheme [GIS] or a rehabilitation policy for family member following death during duty,” Dr. Biswanath Sahu Said.
Nearly 1,500 AYUSH doctors appointed in Odisha on a contractual basis under the NHM from 2007-2009 have been facing this problem. They claimed the Additional Central P.F. Commissioner had in May 2015 issued a directive to all State governments to provide EPF benefit to the NHM contractual staff, but the order is yet to be implemented in Odisha.
To this end, the members of the union have demanded that the government, like regular employees, include these doctors in all forms of government-provided incentives and life insurance, and that the incentive be paid at a rate of 1,500 per day to the ADM (Additional district magistrate) Koraput, district medical and public health officer, Koraput, Provided by the Director of Health Mission, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
“ We demand parity in pay scale and regularisation of our posts,” added secretary Dr.Chandi prasad patra.
