Mangaluru: Opposing agreements between government hospitals and private medical colleges, and demanding the strengthening of public healthcare facilities, the Dakshina Kannada district unit of the CPI(M) has announced a massive protest rally in Mangaluru on May 14.
The rally will begin from Ambedkar Circle and proceed towards Clock Tower at 10.30 am. The protest is aimed at urging the state government to withdraw agreements signed with private medical institutions and instead improve government healthcare infrastructure across the district.
Addressing mediapersons, CPI(M) district secretary Muneer Katipalla termed the government’s move a “retrograde step” that could eventually lead to the complete privatisation of the public healthcare sector.
CPI(M) demands stronger government hospitals
The party demanded that the state government immediately cancel agreements entered into with private medical colleges and focus on strengthening government hospitals by appointing doctors, ensuring the supply of medicines, and improving basic healthcare facilities directly through government intervention.
According to CPI(M), handing over government hospitals to private medical institutions could create a major crisis in the healthcare sector in the future. The party alleged that such decisions would result in the commercialisation of healthcare services and adversely affect poor and middle-class families dependent on affordable treatment in public hospitals.
Katipalla stated that private medical institutions already have a dominant presence in Dakshina Kannada district, while government hospitals and primary health centres continue to suffer from shortages of doctors, medicines, and infrastructure.
He alleged that the neglect of public healthcare facilities was part of a deliberate effort to justify transferring government hospitals to private management under the guise of improving healthcare services.
Opposition to hospital agreements
The CPI(M) specifically objected to agreements reportedly finalised for transferring the management of community health centres at Moodbidri and Vittal, along with taluk hospitals at Bantwal and Belthangady, to private medical colleges.
The party argued that such arrangements would weaken the government healthcare system and gradually reduce public access to affordable medical treatment.
Party leaders said the proposed protest rally in Mangaluru would be the beginning of a larger agitation campaign across Dakshina Kannada district.
Protest to expand across district
Katipalla stated that in the next phase, protests and awareness campaigns would also be organised at taluk and hobli levels. He added that the agitation would be intensified in association with pro-people organisations and like-minded political parties.
The CPI(M) said it aims to mobilise public support against what it described as the privatisation of healthcare services in the district.
Meanwhile, responding to concerns raised over the agreements with private medical colleges, Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao reportedly defended the move, stating that the government had entered into such tie-ups to provide better healthcare facilities to the public.
The issue has triggered debate in Dakshina Kannada, with political parties and healthcare activists expressing differing opinions over the role of private institutions in managing public healthcare services.