PUNJAB GOVT TO BEAR TREATMENT COST OF PERSONS INJURED DURING FARMERS’ PROTEST

HEALTH MINISTER DR. BALBIR SINGH VISITS HEALTH FACILITIES TO KNOW THE WELLBEING OF FARMERS AND JOURNALISTS INJURED DURING HARYANA POLICE ACTION
DR. BALBIR SINGH CONDEMNS ROLE OF HARYANA GOVERNMENT, TERMS IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND ILLEGAL
CHANDIGARH/MOHALI/PATIALA, February 14:
Standing firmly with the farmers protesting for their legitimate demands, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government will bear all the cost of treatment expenses to be incurred on injured persons during the ongoing farmers’ protest, said Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Balbir Singh here on Wednesday.

The Health Minister was on a whirlwind tour of different government health facilities near the Haryana border to know the wellbeing of farmers, journalists, and police personnel injured during the police action by the Haryana government to deter farmers from entering the state. He visited Dr. B. R. Ambedkar State Institute for Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Mohali, CHC Banur, Civil Hospital Rajpura, and Rajindra Hospital Patiala. MLAs Neena Mittal and Gurlal Ghanour were also present at Rajpura. 
Dr. Balbir Singh said that keeping in view the safety of protesting farmers, all the hospitals adjoining the Haryana border have been put on high alert, and emergency services are being provided 24×7. He said that there is no shortage of doctors in the government health facilities, and doctors have been asked to stay put at the hospitals, while the deployment of ambulances has also intensified along the border. He also asked the local health authorities to keep 14 ambulances on standby with the requisite staff and medicines in case of an emergency.
He said that being the nearest to the Shambu Border, at least 40 injured persons were admitted to the Civil Hospital in Rajpura, of which two have sustained serious head injuries and are undergoing treatment. CM Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab government will ensure free medical aid to the persons injured during the farmers’ protest, he reiterated. 
While condemning the Haryana government for the unprovoked police action against protesting farmers, Dr. Balbir Singh said that the Haryana government has no right to stop farmers who were peacefully heading to Delhi to hold protests. “The national highway is property of the nation, and farmers were just passing through Haryana’s jurisdiction to reach Delhi,” he said, while terming the role of the Haryana government as unconstitutional and illegal. He also urged the BJP-led Haryana government to let the farmers reach the national capital to peacefully raise their demands. 
Meanwhile, during his visit to AIMS Mohali, the Health Minister took stock of the medical services being provided in emergency care and directed the officials to further strengthen the emergency services so that no one has to be referred to PGI, or Government Medical College-32, for further care.