Home guards deployed at govt hospitals not paid for 5 months
DHANBAD: Home guards deployed at government hospitals and medical colleges across the state have not been paid their salary for the last five months, with the health department yet to release the funds for the same.
Now the home guards say they are on the verge of starvation, accusing the government of breaking its promise to them.
“State health minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi on July 13 assured that he will release the funds for our salary after the Jharkhand Home Guards Association began gheraoing his Ranchi house. But he has broken his assurance, and it has pushed the guards to the verge of starvation,” said Ravi Mukherji, president of the association.
The safety of hospitals and medical colleges was entrusted to private security agencies, at a cost of several crores per annum. In October 2015, on the directive of principal secretary (health) K Vidyasagar, the Patliputra Medical College Hospital (PMCH) , Mahahatma Gandhi Medical College Hospital (MGMCH) and Dhanbad, Giridih , Jamtara, Sahibgunj and Chaibasa districts deployed home guards at their district hospitals and community health centre (CHC) at block level in place of the private security guards.
Each guard is paid `400 per day.
HOME GUARDS SAY THEY ARE ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION, AS THE GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED TO PAY THEIR SALARY