Govind Sharma
JAMMU, June 29: Announced two years back, the special financial incentives in respect of COVID-19 Warriors of Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu are yet to be released by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
Official sources told Excelsior that the Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Department vide its Order Number 360-JK (HME) of 2021 dated 04-05-2021 had accorded sanction to the grant of financial incentives for those frontline health workers who directly dealt with the COVID-19 patients, for rewarding their services during the difficult times.
As per the Order, Rs 10,000 per month was fixed as financial incentive for Resident Doctors/PGs as well as Medical Officers, Rs 7000 for Paramedical staff/Nursing staff, and Rs 5000 for Drivers as well as Class IV workers (Nursing Orderlies/Sweepers).
Sources informed that a total of 686 employees of GMC Jammu including Resident Doctors, MOs, Nursing/Paramedical staff, Class IV employees and Drivers were recommended for these financial incentives. Similarly, 784 employees of GMC Srinagar, 12 of GMC Doda, 30 of GMC Rajouri, 50 of GMC Kathua, 79 of GMC Anantnag, 80 of GMC Baramulla and 200 of SKIMS Soura were to be given these special incentives.
According to the Order, these incentives were to be given for peak pandemic period (for 3 months), starting from the month of May 2021 but sources said that even after more than 2 years of announcement, these incentives had not been released in favour of the frontline health workers of GMC Jammu while the same has been released in respect of frontline workers of other health institutions.
Speaking to Excelsior, a Resident Doctor of GMC Jammu alleged that they had approached the administration on multiple occasions about incentives, but they never received a satisfactory response whereas COVID Warriors of other health institutions in the Union Territory have already received these incentives.
“It has been 2 years now when we fought the COVID-19 in frontline putting our lives and lives of our loved ones on stake. We never backed off and delivered to the maximum of our potential. We were promised incentives for the same and it is very sad to bring this forward that we were neglected by our authorities denying what rightfully was ours,” he lamented.
Similar claims were made by another Resident Doctor of GMC Jammu. “I am sure nobody can forget the difficult times of COVID-19 when even close relatives had maintained distance from the COVID patients but we as frontline workers did not care for our lives and saved many precious lives and in this battle with COVID-19, some of the frontline health workers even sacrificed their lives but it seems that Government of J&K has forgot the services rendered by us and that is why, even after 2 years, incentives have not been released in our favour,” he added.
To know reasons behind unprecedented delay in releasing the financial incentives in favour of the frontline health care workers of GMC Jammu, Secretary H&ME Department Dr Bhupinder Kumar was contacted telephonically but he did not respond at all.
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