CM launches 70 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, says aim is to make Delhi a medical hub

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Tuesday inaugurated 70 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and said her government is working round the clock to turn Delhi into a medical hub.

Speaking at the Maternity and Child Welfare Centre in Shakti Nagar in north Delhi, from where she virtually launched the new centres, Ms. Gupta said, “We have targeted opening 15 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in every Vidhan Sabha constituency… Delhi should become a medical hub. There is a lot of work required for that and the government is working 24×7.”

With the addition of the 70 new centres, their total number has reached 238. The government plans to establish 1,139 such centres in all. While some are revamped Mohalla Clinics launched by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, new locations have been identified for the remaining centres.

Taking a dig at the AAP government, Ms. Gupta said, “The previous government started the Mohalla Clinic model. How many people went to these Mohalla Clinics? They [AAP government] would put big photos outside porta cabins, but their work was small… There were no medicines, no doctors, and no staff. Today, you can go inside an Ayushman Arogya Mandir and see for yourself; every centre is a primary hospital. Small issues for which you would earlier have to run to the hospital can be treated here.”

Other Ministers physically inaugurated the centres after the Chief Minister’s launch. At one of the centres in Shiv Vihar, Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said, “Our aim is to bring essential health care to every neighbourhood so that no one has to travel long distances for primary services.”