Rapthadu MLA Thopudurthi Prakash Reddy at the Zilla Parishad general body meeting here on Saturday flagged the issue of the severe shortage of common medicines in the stores and highlighted how people were affected by that.
Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency member from Anantapur Rural Mandal J. Chandra Kumar and others raised the issue of Primary Health Centres not stocking essential medicines, which had allegedly led to deaths of three persons recently.
They also pointed out how the HIV-infected persons were having to miss their cycle of medicines under Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART). This issue was highlighted by The Hindu in these columns on February 6.
Referring to a case where a patient had allegedly died due to non-availability of anti-venom medicines in Rapthadu PHC, the MLA recalled that the doctors had said that some regular medicines were also not available.
He wanted the Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation(APMIDC) to list out the shortage of medicines at different locations so that he could follow up with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to get immediate sanction for the same.
At the meeting chaired by Zilla Parishad Chairperson Boya Girijamma, District Collector Nagalakshmi Selvarajan, however, said that the issue was resolved and that now medicines were being purchased from local funds that were available for emergencies.
The MLA, however, was not satisfied with the answer and said that the shortage was for real and wanted the actual situation to be put on paper so that he could follow up.
Chennekothapalli Mandal Parishad president Praveena raised a similar issue with the delay in the supply of Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) medicines to the five sub-centers at Kalyandurg, Uravakonda, Penukonda, Hindupur and other places.
She said that the patients had been missing the cycle as medicines were not reaching the delivery centers on time. “The funds are allocated by the APSACS, but the local medical officer-in-charge was not ensuring timely supply, thus forcing the ‘Positive Network’ NGO to buy medicines for those patients through donations from the public,” she said.
Kadiri MLA PV Sidda Reddy raised the issue of five Comprehensive Protected Water Schemes in the Kadiri Assembly constituency not getting water properly due to a series of strikes by the staff of contractors appointed for operation and maintenance.
The minimum quantum of water was also not coming from the Sri Sathya Sai Water Scheme, he said. RWS Superintending Engineer D. Venkata Ramana said that pipes and motors of the system had aged and some replacement tenders were being called to improve the efficiency.
