Kerala Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues of ignoring the acute shortage of medicines in pharmacy stores faced by government hospitals in the State.
Speaking to the media in Kozhikode January 6 (Saturday), Mr. Satheesan said that patients were being asked to buy 75% of the medicines from private stores. This was happening because Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) was not distributing medicines as per the purchase indent submitted by the hospitals, he pointed out.
“The corporation owes crores of rupees to pharmaceutical companies for the drugs they have delivered. Because of that, the companies are refusing to provide fresh stocks,” he alleged.
Mr. Satheesan said that only single batches of medicines were being procured and these were not properly tested too. “Health Minister Veena George, however, was claiming that there was no shortage. What has happened to Supplyco is happening to KMSCL as well. Essential commodities that are given at subsidised rates are missing from Maveli stores because the government owes thousands of crores of rupees to the distributors,” the Opposition Leader said.
Mr. Satheesan alleged that the Chief Minister and other Ministers were not addressing these issues. “The Chief Minister is in the custody of a group of sycophants,” he said, adding that a recently released video song profusely praising him was an example of this.
