Medical Care of Beedi Workers

There are 7 hospitals and 204 dispensaries throughout the country for the welfare of Beedi Workers. These hospitals are located as under:-
 

65 bedded hospital at Dhuliyan, (West Bengal)
50 bedded T.B. hospital at Kodarma (Jharkhand)
50 bedded hospital at Mysore (Karnataka)
30 bedded hospital at Sagar (M.P.)
10 bedded hospital at Gursahaiganj (U.P.)
30 bedded hospital at Mukkadal (Tamilnadu)
30 bedded hospital at Bihar Sharif (Bihar)
A 15 bedded hospital at Jhalda (W.B.) is under construction.
            The dispensaries are located as under:-

Sl.No.	Name of the Region	No. of Dispensaries
1.	Ajmer	16
2.	Allahabad	18
3.	Bangalore	34
4.	Bhubaneswar	15
5.	Hyderabad	38
6.	Jabalpur	27
7.	Karma	21
8.	Kolkata	18
9.	Nagpur	17
	TOTAL:	204

 

The following studies have been conducted to ascertain the health condition of the beedi workers in the country:

(i) A study on “A National Study on Beedi Workers- An Economic Approach” was conducted by Industrial Economics Division of Director General Factory Advice Services and Labour Institute, Mumbai.

(ii) Another study named “Occupational Health Hazards in women Beedi rollers inBihar (2010)”.

The following health care facilities are provided to Beedi Workers to safeguard the health of these workers and their rehabilitation:-

 

 MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR BEEDI WORKERS
 

PURPOSE	NATURE OF ASSISTANCE
Ophthalmic Problems	Financial assistance of Rs.300/- for purchase of spectacles
Tuberculosis	Reservation of beds in T. B. Hospitals and domiciliary treatment for workers. Subsistence allowance Rs.750/- p.m. to Rs.1000/- is paid to workers.
Heart Diseases	Reimbursement of expenditure up to Rs.1,30,000/- to workers.
Kidney Transplantation	Reimbursement of expenditure up to Rs.2,00,000/- to workers.
Cancer	Reimbursement of actual expenditure on treatment, medicines, and diet charges incurred by workers, or their dependants.
Minor surgery likeHernia, Appendec-tomyulcer, Gynaeco-logical diseases and prostrate diseases.	Reimbursement of expenditure upto Rs.30,000/- to workers and their dependants.
Mental Diseases	Financial assistance for treatment of mental diseases, diet, railway fare and subsistence allowance to workers.
Leprosy	Financial assistance for Rs.30/- per patient per day for indoor treatment and Rs.6/- per patient per day for outdoor treatment to workers. Subsistence allowance of Rs.300/- per month with dependants and Rs.200/- per month without dependants for workers.
Maternity Benefits	Grant of Rs.1000/- per delivery to a female worker (for first two deliveries).
Family Welfare	Monetary incentive @ Rs.500/- per head to the workers for undergoing sterilization.

In addition to above, Ministry of Labour and Employment has initiated action for rehabilitation of the beedi workers to provide them alternate source of employment for viable alternative sources of livelihood according to local market requirements.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shri Harish Rawat gave this information in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

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