A day after the Miri Piri Hospital staff went on a strike, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Haryana slammed a section of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) for disturbing the facility’s functioning.
SAD Haryana president Harkesh Singh Mohri along with the community leaders reached the hospital and met the protesting staff members.
The employees under the banner of Miri Piri Karamchari Sangharsh Samiti submitted a memorandum to Mohri, who assured them of taking up the matter with the SAD and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president.
“The employees have been waiting for their salaries for three months and are forced to stage a dharna at the hospital because of the wrong decisions of some HSGMC leaders. The same section of leaders is also affecting the functioning of the HSGMC by not letting the budget to be passed,” Mohri said.
“The HSGMC leaders were well aware of the fact that the Haryana committee doesn’t have adequate budget to fund the hospital, but still attempted to take over its possession. After the order of Punjab and Haryana High Court, they claimed that the Haryana committee will bear all the expenses and take over the possession. Due to their vested interests, they have disturbed the smooth functioning of the hospital and the committee,” he added.
The leader said while the Sikh community were running welfare services, the employees of its own healthcare facility were finding it hard to run their homes due to the infighting, adding, “People have already started resigning due to the uncertainty and pending salaries. If the situation is not addressed, the hospital will be closed. We will request SAD president Sukhbir Badal to discuss the issue with the SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami to support the hospital and clear the salaries.”
Meanwhile, HSGMC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda said “Miri Piri Hospital is a major healthcare facility being run by the Sikh community. Due to the current situation, a wrong message is being sent out to the people. The SGPC should give the salaries till the hospital is formally taken over by the HSGMC.” He said they would soon hold a meeting with the SGPC president in this regard, adding, “We appeal to the employees to resume their services so the patients do not face any inconvenience.”
