Udupi: BJP district president Kuthyar Naveen Shetty has said the alleged maladministration of the Congress govt has put people of Udupi into hardship. “The govt should respond to the demands of people, especially with regard to the basic infrastructure in the district. The govt should take necessary steps to complete the construction of the District Hospital building immediately. While the construction began in Dec 2021, the work achieved 90% progress three years ago. However, the govt has not taken any initiative to dedicate the hospital building yet,” said Shetty.Stating that the govt has no political will, Shetty said the hospital continues to function as a taluk hospital with only 120 beds.“Poor patients are in distress due to the lack of ICU beds, and are forced to travel to hospitals in Dakshina Kannada. However, patients do not find ICU beds in the neighbouring district either. This has resulted in patients being shifted from Udupi to Mangaluru and back. Despite several memorandums and many protests, the govt has not acted,” he said, and warned that BJP will launch massive protests if the hospital is not opened by April-end.On social security schemes of the govt, the BJP functionary said the govt’s new policy regarding the income ceiling has deprived several poor families of benefits. The govt has taken an anti-poor decision by setting an annual income ceiling of Rs 32,000 to avail social security scheme benefits. In Udupi district alone, nearly 50,000 people will not be able to avail social security scheme benefits, Shetty said, urging the govt to increase the annual income ceiling to Rs 1 lakh.
