Eatala cries bias, accuses Centre of limiting Remdesivir supply to Telangana

After several consultations with the drug manufacturers in the state and planning meticulously, Telangana had ordered four lakh Remdesivir vials, the minister said. "But the Center which is already controlling the vaccine and oxygen supply shocked us by taking the drug supply also into its control and allocating 21,551 vials for 10 days from 21 to 30 April. This is utterly disastrous to the functioning of the healthcare sector. We do not understand on what basis this allocation is made," he added.

Mr. Rajender said he contacted Union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan and urged immediate action but there was no response. The TS minister said that during the pandemic, the state has been working in coordination with the Center but such developments deter the functioning of the healthcare sector.

He urged the Center to not only consider the number of positive cases and patients undergoing treatment in the state but also consider the huge number of patients coming to Telangana, especially to Hyderabad, for treatment from neighboring states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Around 70 per cent of patients undergoing treatment in private hospitals now belong to these states and allocation of drugs and oxygen should be made on this basis, he added.

Oxygen is being supplied to Telangana from plants in Odisha which is 1,300 km away, the minister pointed out while alleging that the plant at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu had refused to supply oxygen despite allocation from the Center. "We urge the Center to divert our allocation to plants at Vizag, Bellary, and other places, which are close to Telangana," he requested.

The minister also made it clear that there is no shortage of oxygen supply in any government hospital or major hospitals in the state. There are stray instances where there is a shortage due to a delay in supply. "It has come to our notice that an artificial shortage is created to exploit needy persons through the black market. We warn them of stringent action," the health minister said.

He also stated that due to the delay in supply, if the situation goes out of control, the Center will be held responsible. He also said that people either in Maharashtra or Gujarat or Telangana are all the same and there should be no bias catering to their needs.

"Major vaccine and pharma manufacturers are in Telangana but we are not so shrewd like Sriperumbudur plant, to keep the production to our state only. We are focused on the health of people in Telangana and across the country. We only need the Center's support to fulfill our commitment to our people." he said.