Buzz on Himachal Speaker Kuldeep Pathania getting health ministry after cabinet reshuffle, Assembly head’s role may go to Dhani Ram Shandil
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Speculation makes Chamba district hopeful of getting a ministry after 10 years
The Newz Radar
CHAMBA: A cabinet reshuffle appears imminent in Himachal Pradesh, particularly after the swearing-in of two new minister, Rajesh Dharmani and Yadvinder Goma, and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu himself giving a related indication before leaving for Dubai on an official visit.
Amid the wait when Dharmani and Goma are yet to be allotted portfolios, speculation is rife that Chamba district too could get a ministry. The buzz is that Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, who is 83 years old, may be made to swap his role with Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Pathania, an MLA from Bhattiyat in Chamba district.
Due to his higher age, Dhani Ram Shandil could be made the Speaker of the Assembly. If Pathania is made the Health Minister, it will be the first time that the district will get the portfolio and the people of the region can expect an improvement in the facilities at local hospitals.
Not only this, it will be after a gap of 10 years that Chamba district will get a ministerial post. The Chamba district of Himachal is also included in the list of 113 aspirational districts of the country, which have been lacking in services compared to others.
The health services in Chamba are in such a state of disarray that every day, many patients have to be referred to the Medical College at Tanda for treatment. And to reach there, there is only one 108 ambulance available.
The posts of doctors and paramedical staff have been lying vacant at the Chamba Medical College for long. The government has completed its one-year tenure but till now not a single meeting of the patient welfare committee of the Chamba Medical College has been conducted.
Ultrasound machines have been installed in five hospitals of the district, but these are gathering dust due to the vacant post of radiologists for years. Amidst all these circumstances, the coronation of Kuldeep Pathania as Health Minister could prove to be a blessing for Chamba district. However, snatching Dhani Ram’s ministry too won’t be an easy task in view of his proximity to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Gandhi family.
