Rs 5 meal for attendants of patients at 18 govt hospitals

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMSIDC) entered into an agreement with the voluntary organisation Hare Krishna Movement for extending its Rs 5 meal programme to the attendants of the patients at 18 government hospitals in Hyderabad. The menu for breakfast would be curd rice, pulihora, vegetable pulav, sambar rice and pickle. For lunch and dinner the menu would be rice, sambar or dal, and vegetables. They would be providing disposable plates and water glasses. While the attendants pay Rs 5 for the meal, the State government provides a balance of Rs 21.25 to the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Trust.

Health Minister T Harish Rao said that a large number of patients and their attendants come to 18 hospitals in GHMC and are made to stay for months in the hospital as per the severity of the disease. While the government provides free meals to the patients, the attendants have to face inconvenience. Keeping this in mind, the government decided to provide food to the attendants. Now the hospitals in the GHMC limits like Osmania, NIMS, Gandhi, Niloufer, Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital, Petla Burj Maternity Hospital, MNJ Cancer Hospital, Erragadda Chest Hospital, Koti ENT, Nallakunta Fever, Koti Maternity, Gachibowli TIMS, King Koti District Hospital, Area Hospitals of Malakpet, Golkonda, Vanasthalipuram, Kondapur and Nampally would have the Rs 5 meal for the patient's attendants.

The minister said that the State government has to spend Rs 38.66 crore annually for providing meals to the attendants in 18 hospitals. This would provide food to about 20,000 persons. Harish Rao said that he had relations with the Hare Krishna Movement for the last 10 years as mid-day meal was provided to children in schools in Siddipet. He said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao gave an assurance in the Assembly and as per his announcement the meal was being provided to the attendants of the patients. The HK Movement has a hygienic kitchen in Sangareddy and it also maintains quality and have been serving the Rs 5 meal during the last seven years in Hyderabad, he added.