TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: The Aam Aadmi Party lashed out at the State government for ignoring their three-day hunger strike at Chaudi. They were particularly harsh on Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar, who allegedly passed by the venue several times but never stopped.
Several AAP members undertook the strike from May 25 to protest against the deplorable condition of the Canacona Community Health Centre (CHC) and the lack of doctors, among other things.
During a meeting at the strike venue, AAP leader Sandesh Telekar stated, “As an opposition MLA, Tawadkar once sat for a hunger strike and participated in a rasta-roko to demand the government’s attention for the ailing CHC. Why this u-turn now? Are the facilities improved at CHC? Has the hospital been upgraded? Are all the needed doctors and other medics posted in Canacona? We blame this government for the death of Santosh, an accident victim from Polem-Canacona. Santosh would have been saved had there been a trauma unit, or if better health facilities were made available by this government.”
He continued, “If Tawadkar feels that we are less in numbers or we belong to a different political party, then we want to tell him we are Canconcars and Goans, and he is the MLA of Canacona and minister of all Goans.”
Posters and newspaper cuttings of Ramesh Tawadkar’s ‘u-turn’ were also put at the venue.
The other demands made by the AAP at the hunger strike included: a trauma unit, pathology lab, x-ray unit, unhindered functioning of the dialysis unit, proper maintenance of the lifts and generator, availability of life-saving drugs, and round-the-clock availability of doctors, especially positing of specialists.
