State government to establish 94 more Basti Dawakhanas in HMDA area

The State government has decided to give further impetus to the concept of Basti Dawakhanas that have come as a boon for the poor families and slums in the city.

In the budget presented on Monday, Finance Minister T Harish Rao said the government has started the work to establish 94 more basti dawakhanas in the HMDA area.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has decided there should be 350 basti dawakhanas in Hyderabad. At present, 256 basti dawakhanas are functioning and providing free medical care as well as 57 different types of tests apart from distributing free medicines.

Earlier, there were no medical facilities in bastis of Hyderabad and poor



people had to go to private hospitals as there were no alternatives. Given the medical and health aid that the basti dawakhas have been providing and the positive appreciation from the poor and needy families, the government has now decided to open another 60 basti dawakhanas across the municipal corporations and municipalities as well.

The 15th Finance Commission has also praised the functioning of these basti dawakhanas and has recommended that the other States also should establish similar facilities. Recently, in Rajya Sabha even the Government of India appreciated the work being done by the State in the healthcare sector, the Minister said.