Jiribam people deprived of RSBY benefits
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, May 29 2013:
The beneficiaries of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY), national health insurance scheme, in Jiribam Sub-division of Imphal East have not been able to get the benefits of this scheme due to the absence of a proper hospital and other healthcare centres in the sub-division.
According to sources, there are about 500 beneficiaries of RSBY in the sub-division whose smart cards have already been issued by the authorities concerned.
But the beneficiaries who belong to Below Poverty Line (BPL) are not able to get the benefits of this scheme as they could not afford to have medical treatment in Imphal.
Instead, they go to hospitals in the neighbouring town Silchar in Assam where they cannot avail the benefits of this health scheme.
The Executive Director of State Labour Department Gokul Mani told Hueiyen Lanpao that the beneficiaries of RSBY in Jiribam Sub-division could not avail the benefits of the scheme because they undergo treatment mostly at Silchar Hospital which is actually not covered under the scheme.
He further stated that RSBY is a national scheme applicable to all villages throughout the country but the Hospital at Silchar comes under the jurisdiction of Barrak Valley where the scheme is yet to be implemented by Assam government.
Gokul also said that the people of Jiribam are convenient to have treatment at Silchar instead of coming Imphal due to the distance factor.
As of the year 2012-13, there are 500 smart card holders of RSBY in Jiribam Sub-division.
The deprived beneficiaries have drawn the attention of the authorities concerned to set up a proper government hospital at Jiribam so that the benefits of RSBY could be availed by them.