VIJAYAWADA: Several frontline healthcare workers of Andhra Pradesh, who sacrificed their lives attending to Coronavirus-infected patients, have so far failed in getting the financial relief of Rs. 50 lakh assured under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
The centre had announced an insurance cover of Rs. 50 lakh each under PMGKY for healthcare workers, including doctors, who die after contracting Covid-19 while on duty attending to patients afflicted with the disease and undergoing treatment at various government-run hospitals. Except in a few cases, no kin of the deceased health staff have yet received any relief from the centre.
For example, family members of 10 government doctors, who succumbed to Coronavirus while treating virus-infected patients in the state, have not got any relief so far. Following this, they approached the state government seeking its intervention. Doctors claim that though the state government assured to pay Rs. 50 lakh on its own and claim the relief once the centre makes the payment, this has not yet happened.
A family member of one government doctor, who succumbed to Covid-19, said: “The state government itself should grant us the Rs. 50 lakh and help us recover from the loss of our only bread winner. Otherwise, we cannot sustain ourselves.”
AP Government Doctors Association convenor Dr. D. Jayadheer said, “We have lost 10 of our colleagues due to Covid-19 while they were treating infected patients. None of their family members have received any relief either from the centre or from the state government. We appeal to Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to intervene and help us to get the assured relief of Rs. 50 lakh each.”
AP unit of the Indian Medical Association claims that nearly 40 private doctors too had died after contracting Covid-19 while attending to infected patients. None of their family members too have received any relief so far.
Sources in the Health Department say several health personnel got infected while attending to patients. They, in turn, infected their family members. Some of such family members even succumbed to the virus.
A lab technician at Ramachandrapuram in East Godavari infected his six family members after he got infected with the virus in line of duty. His father died of the virus. In Kurnool, another lab technician infected his father, mother and brother. He lost his brother to the virus.
In Anantapur, a health worker got infected and passed on the disease to her husband who died subsequently. Such health workers too have appealed to the state government to provide them relief for losing their dear ones.
