Mandaviya unveils Rs 100 crore ESIC hospital at Kala Amb

In a bid to reinforce healthcare infrastructure for workers, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated a built 30-bed Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital at Kala Amb in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh today. Built at a cost of around Rs 100 crore, the facility is designed to be upgraded to a 100-bed hospital in future. The hospital is set to benefit over one lakh ESI beneficiaries in Sirmaur and the adjoining districts. Equipped with departments such as general medicine, surgery, gynaecology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and dental, the facility will offer both OPD and IPD services. Additional features include modular operation theatres, medical gas pipeline systems and other advanced medical infrastructure. Addressing the gathering, Mandaviya said, “This is not merely a building, but a shrine dedicated to our Shram Shakti — the workers who are the backbone of our nation.” In a gesture symbolising respect for labour, the minister also felicitated the construction workers who contributed to building the hospital. He announced the government’s decision to establish medical colleges in all ESIC hospitals with 200 or more beds. Importantly, 40 per cent of the seats in these institutions will be reserved for the wards of insured persons, aimed at ensuring greater access to higher education for workers’ families. The minister asserted that the ESIC network is being expanded under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, he said, “has honoured the dignity of India’s workforce like no other.” He added that ESIC hospitals stand committed to treating every worker, regardless of whether the cost of medication is Rs 1 or Rs 1 crore. Citing an instance where the government promptly sanctioned Rs 2 crore for life-saving medication for a worker’s child, Mandaviya said, “Poverty should never become a barrier to life-saving care.” He added that healthy citizens are the foundation of a healthy nation. The minister also pledged that all vacancies in the ESIC hospitals would be filled in mission mode to ensure seamless delivery of services. “Our workers deserve timely and quality healthcare, and this government will ensure they get it,” he concluded.

Himachal Tribune