‘Pourakarmikas to be employed based on city’s population’

Pourakarmikas will be employed in accordance with the city’s population, Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Mayor Premananda Shetty said on Wednesday.

“Following directions from the government, MCC will be appointing over 700 pourakarmikas. The services of pourakarmikas, working on a contract basis for private companies, will be regularised and they will receive all benefits,” said the mayor while inaugurating a medical camp organised for the first batch of pourakarmikas by MCC and the Department of Community Medicine, Yenepoya Medical College (Deemed to be University) at Town Hall in Mangaluru.

Premananda Shetty said MCC was redressing the problems of pourakarmikas in a phased manner.

The free health check-up is one among the many programmes, he said.

The MCC was paying Rs 12 lakh annually as a premium for insurance coverage given to pourakarmikas, he said and added that 528 members were being benefited by the cashless health insurance scheme.

MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar said such medical camps for pourakarmikas will be held once in three months.

‘Covid champions’

The medical camp for the second batch of pourakarmikas will be held on Sunday, he said and appealed to pourakarmikas to get their booster shots.

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V hailed pourakarmikas as ‘Covid champions’.

“The pourakarmikas have toiled from 6 am to 2 pm ignoring their own health,” he said and added that more benefits will be realised when medical camps are held at regular intervals.

He also interacted with pourakarmikas and made enquiries on whether they were receiving all facilities like gloves, among others.

A pourakarmika S Lakshmi Bai’s jaw dropped on being informed that it was the deputy commissioner himself who had interacted with her. She immediately accosted him and submitted her grievances to him.

MCC Health Officer Dr Manjayya Shetty, Covid Nodal Officer Dr Annaya Kullal, former mayor Divakar, Associate Dean, YMC, Dr Abhay Nirgude, Professor and Head of Community Medicine, YMC, Dr Poonam R Naik, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, YMC, Dr Shubhankar Adhikari, Senior Relations Consultant, YMC, Bhaskar Aras, among others, were also present.