The Dakshina Kannada district administration will set up by this weekend a forum to redress complaints relating to private hospitals charging exorbitant fees for treating COVID-19 patients. The forum will also redress grievances on bills and treatments availed of under Ayushman Bharat scheme in those hospitals.
The forum will be set up in the office of District Health and Family Welfare Officer.
Informing this at the Karnataka Development Programme Review Committee meeting here on Monday, Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra said that people having grievances can approach the forum.
He said that the district administration will soon introduce a service wherein COVID-19 patients in homes will be shifted for free treatment at hospitals, in case they needed hospitalisation. They will be given free ambulance service from home to hospital and back home.
Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada Kota Srinivasa Poojary said that COVID-19 patients can avail themselves of free treatment under Ayushman Bharat scheme in 73 hospitals in Dakshina Kannada. Probably, Dakshina Kannada is the first district in the State to bring such maximum number of hospitals under Ayushman Bharat scheme for treating COVID-19 patients free, he added.
Sand bars
The Deputy Commissioner told the meting that sand bars for sand extraction under the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) in the district will be identified in the next 10 days. They will be finalised as per the guidelines of the government.
Land for roads
Mr. Rajendra said that village accountants or other officials concerned in gram panchayats will be suspended if they did not earmark and reserve land for public roads while granting land under any government scheme.
The Assistant Commissioners should conduct pension adalats in taluks within a fortnight to reddress the complaints of pensioners, he said.
The Deputy Commissioner asked MESCOM to set right issues in the delay of electricity bills reaching consumers in Bantwal and Belthangady taluks at the earliest.
Goushalas
MLC K. Prathapsimha Nayak suggested that the government should reserve land in each gram panchayat for building goushalas.
Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja suggested that the local milk cooperative societies under the KMF can manage them.
Bantwal MLA Rajesh Naik U., Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharat Shetty, Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat president Meenakshi Shantigodu, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Selvamani R., Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Akshy Sridhar and Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police B.M. Laxmiprasad and others participated.