Amma mini-clinics were launched on December 14, 2020, by the previous AIADMK government in memory of the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to shut down Amma mini-clinics launched by the previous AIADMK government. Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Tuesday, January 4, announced that the Amma mini-clinics would be shut down in the state. He said that the clinics will be shut down due to their non-performance. Subramanian also said that the doctors employed in these Amma mini-clinics would be absorbed in other vacancies.
Amma mini-clinics were launched on December 14, 2020, by the previous AIADMK government in memory of the late Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo, J Jayalalithaa. There were 2,000 Amma mini-clinics across the state and 1,500 doctors were recruited to run these clinics. After COVID-19 cases spiked during 2021, the doctors of these clinics were diverted to government medical colleges to attend to COVID-19 patients.
The AIADMK has criticised the decision of the state government. Former Chief Minister and AIADMK chief coordinator, O Panneerselvam in a statement on Tuesday, January 4, said that the DMK’s politics of vendetta was the main reason behind the shutting down of the Amma clinics rather than non-performance. He said that the DMK government has also shut down the Amma canteens that were also opened by the previous AIADMK government in a bid to help the poor to get cheap quality food across the state.
Meanwhile, five districts, including Chennai, accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections on Tuesday as Tamil Nadu continued to witness a surge with 2,731 fresh cases being reported, pushing the tally to 27.55 lakh, the health department said. After witnessing a declining trend for several weeks, Tamil Nadu has been reporting a sharp increase in new infections since last week.
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Source: The News Minute