Will fight for share of Krishna waters: KTR

TS has already filed an SLP in SC, says IT minister

TRS working president and industries minister K.T. Rama Rao has warned private hospitals against forcing Covid-19 patients to pay hefty bills.

Responding to questions from Twitterati on the Covid-19 pandemic and other issues during an interactive session, #AskKTR, on Sunday, Rama Rao said the state government had already taken action against erring hospitals and will not hesitate to move against more of them.

Replying to a question about the stand of the state government on the Pothireddypadu issue, with regard to the Andhra Pradesh project, the minister said “we will fight for our rightful share of the Krishna waters. Already an SLP has been filed in the Supreme Court by the state government.”

Reacting to a question pertaining to Telangana state’s contribution towards the Ram temple construction at Ayodhya, Rama Rao said, “we will pray and hope for Ram Rajya where people of all faiths, castes and classes will be respected and treated equally as enshrined in the Constitution of our great country.”

Answering posers on Twitter, Rama Rao reiterated the state government’s commitment to provide quality treatment to Covid-19 patients in government hospitals. Pointing out that while the mortality rate was less than one per cent in the state, he said the recovery rate was the highest in the country at 72 per cent.

He said that testing for Coronavirus was underway in more than 1,200 centres across the state and that over 23,000 tests were being conducted every day. The number will be increased to more than 40,000 per day in a few days.

The minister appealed to the people, “rather than spreading anti-government propaganda against government hospitals, people should also recognise the services being rendered by these hospitals where thousands of people have already been treated and sent home safely.”

Maintaining that the government alone cannot fight the pandemic, he urged people to join the ongoing battle against Covid-19 across the world.

Rama Rao said, “Fear psychosis, stigma and social ostracism were causing a lot of grief. I am very pained to see the story of an old couple committing suicide recently to not infect their family,”

He emphasised the need to strengthen the medical sector further in not only Telangana state, but also across the world after the Covid-19 experience.

Replying to a question about not implementing Ayushman Bharat to help people during the pandemic, Rama Rao said the state government’s Aarogyasri was more comprehensive than the Central scheme and in fact, the Ayushman Bharat was modelled after Aarogyasri. The TRS working president made it clear that Telangana state was not in race with any other state in fighting the pandemic as each state has its own set of challenges which were being dealt as per WHO (World Health Organisation) and ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) guidelines.