A day after the staff of Miri Piri Hospital went on strike, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Haryana slammed a section of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) for disturbing the smooth functioning of the healthcare facility.
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 president and the SGPC president.
Harkesh Singh Mohri said, “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 be passed.”
“The HSGMC leaders were well aware of the fact that the Haryana committee doesn’t have adequate budget to fund the hospital, but still they attempted to take over its possession. After the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, they claimed that the Haryana committee would bear all the expenses and take over the possession, but they never returned. Due to their vested interests, they have disturbed the smooth functioning of the hospital and the committee,” he said.
“While the Sikh community has been running welfare services everywhere, the employees of its own healthcare facility are finding it hard to run their homes due to the infighting of some leaders. People have already started resigning due to the uncertainty prevailing and pending salaries. If the situation is not improved, the hospital will be closed soon. We will request the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to discuss the issue with the SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami to support the hospital and clear the salaries of the employees,” Mohri said.
Meanwhile, HSGMC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda said, “Miri Piri Hospital is a major healthcare facility being run by the Sikh community, and due to the current situation, a wrong message is going among the people. The SGPC should give the salaries till the hospital is formally taken over by the HSGMC. We will soon hold a meeting with the SGPC president in this regard. We appeal to the employees to resume their services so that the patients don’t face any inconvenience.”
