Chamba: Himachal Pradesh Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur visited Chamba Medical College on Friday evening and met several patients, including Lambo Devi, the elderly woman who recently made headlines for pledging her jewellery to buy medicines due to their unavailability under the Himcare scheme.
During his visit, Jai Ram Thakur spoke with Lambo Devi and her family, who shared their distressing experience.
“She was scheduled for abdominal surgery,” her family told the BJP leader. “But just before being taken to the operation theatre, we were handed a list of expensive medicines and injections. With no support from Himcare, we had no choice but to pawn her jewellery to buy the medicines.”
‘Govt should be ashamed’: Thakur slams administration
Addressing the media after his hospital visit, Jai Ram Thakur slammed the state government for its “hollow claims” about continuing the Himcare health insurance scheme.
“This is not just one isolated case,” he said. “I met dozens of patients today at Chamba Medical College and none of them are receiving benefits under Himcare. People are dying due to lack of medicines and injections. And those who survive, like Lambo Devi, are doing so by sacrificing their valuables. The government should feel ashamed.”
He added that while officials continue to assert that Himcare has not been discontinued, the ground reality paints a grim picture. “If patients have to mortgage their jewellery for basic treatment, what is the point of having such a scheme?” he asked.
Healthcare crisis deepens in remote districts
Chamba, one of the more remote districts of Himachal Pradesh, has long struggled with healthcare infrastructure. The latest incident has sparked renewed concerns about medicine shortages, access to care, and the actual implementation of public health schemes.
While the government has yet to respond officially to Jai Ram Thakur’s remarks, his visit and the emotional account of Lambo Devi’s ordeal have reignited the debate over the functionality and transparency of state-sponsored healthcare programmes.
Subhash Mahajan
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