Seafarers want hospital reopened

MARGAO: Aggrieved over the closure of the NUSI-Wockhardt hospital in Cuncolim, the Goa Seafarers Association of India (GSAI) on Wednesday demanded that the hospital commence functioning by January 2017. If not, they threatened to shut down the premises of the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) Maritime Academy at Sucaldem-Chinchinim.
Stating that the GSAI would stage a protest on November 25 at 10am, GSAI president Dixon Vaz told a press conference that "the NUSI-Wockhardt hospital has been shut down with no prior information being given to the seafaring community that mostly visited this hospital.This hospital had been constructed on property donated by the Cuncolim communidade (Agricol de Sociedade de Cuncolim) specifically for the benefit of the seafarers. The Seafarers were to be provided special facilities at this hospital." tnnfrom the amounts disbursed through the International Transport Federation (ITF) by the seafarers to NUSI who are managing this hospital. Previously, this hospital was being managed by Apollo who handed it over to Wockhardt. NUSI should pay Wockhardt for the maintenance of this hospital, besides the salaries of the staff and other expenses from the dues it receives from the seafarers every month."
Requesting that the management of this hospital be handed over to Goan doctors, Vaz added, "The NUSI Maritime Academy charges approximately Rs 1.20 lakhs per individual for its various short-term and other courses. Thus, earning revenue of Rs 6-8 crores annually but there is no benefit for Goans as 98% of their students are non-Goans. Hence, we also demand that first preference be given to the sons-of-the-soil i.e. Goan students."