At last, good news for working journalists and those retired scribes in Telangana State. A long wait of almost two years is going to fructify as the State Government is offering health cards to the journalists soon, according to information.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today directed the officials concerned to issue health cards to all the journalists working and retired in Telangana State. KCR reportedly signed a file related to health cards pertaining to journalists in the State. He directed Government Advisor K V Ramanachary and Telangana Press Academy Chairman Allam Narayana to make immediate arrangements for issuing health cards to the scribes and retired ones. If the scribes’ efforts fructify it is likely that they may get health services on par with State government employees which are cashless and limitless.
After the formation of Telangana State, KCR Government vowed to offer new health cards though it could not renew the existing ones immediately. It is pertinent to note here that IT Minister K T Rama Rao recently reiterated that about 12,000 scribes in the State will get health cards, accreditation cards and other benefits. Same was the voice of Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who said that only to offer a better package to the journalists, KCR is taking time to announce the health cards. So far, the scribes had to suffer a total loss of two years without the facility of health cards in the cumbersome process of State formation and after as KCR government took more than one year time.
The scribes are awaiting a government decision in this regard ever since the State was bifurcated on June 2 last. Before division of Andhra Pradesh, then chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy could not issue orders renewing the existing health cards for which scribes had already been paid their premium amount. It may be noted that those at the helm of affairs used to collect some premium from the scribes and add some matching funds to issue health cards. (NSS)