Mumbai News: Municipal Mazdoor Union Cancels Hunger Strike After BMC Drops PPP Plan For Borivali’s Bhagwati Hospital

Mumbai: After the Municipal Mazdoor Union (MMU) declared to go on a hunger strike against the BMC’s decision to run Borivali's Bhagwati hospital on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the BMC has cancelled it's tender inviting private parties. The BMC will continue running the hospital on its own.

Pradeep Narkar, MMU’s general secretary said, "BMC officials confirmed to us that Bhagwati hospital hospital will not run on PPP model. Thus, we have taken back our decision to go on hunger strike." The MMU had announced to go on hunger strike from May 27.

Local MP Piyush Goyal had also announced on April 20 that the BMC-run Bhagwati hospital will not be handed to any private parties.

The Free Press Journal had reported on April 18 that the MMU has decided to go on a hunger strike against the BMC’s decision to run the health services of five peripheral hospitals on PPP model, and meetings were held to decide course of their protest.

The five hospitals planned to be run on the PPP model included: Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali (490 beds), Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi (250 beds), KB Bhabha Hospital in Bandra (436 beds), MT Agarwal Hospital in Mulund (110 beds) and Krantiveer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hospital in Vikhroli (140 beds).

Although, plan to run Bhagwati hospital on PPP model has been revoked, BMC is likely to go ahead with the PPP model for hospital in Mankhurd’s Lallu Bhai compound, built by the MMRDA and handed over to the BMC, and Shatabdi hospital in Govandi.