In a heart-wrenching display of desperation, kidney patients undergoing dialysis, along with their families, took to the streets of Imphal today, demanding the government’s immediate intervention in releasing the long-pending dues under the Chief Ministergi Hakshelgi Tengbang (CMHT) and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) schemes.
The protest rally, organised by the All Manipur Dialysis Patients’ Association, began from Keishampat Leimajam Leikai and marched towards the Governor’s Gate, seeking an audience with the Governor after repeated appeals to the government went unheard.
The patients, many of whom struggle daily to stay alive, have been left to bear the brunt of official apathy. With private hospitals refusing treatment due to the non-clearance of government payments, dialysis patients are being forced to choose between debt and death. For them, every missed dialysis session is a risk to their life — yet the state machinery remains unmoved.
Association spokesperson Chongtham Luxmi condemned the authorities’ failure to release the dues, calling it a blatant violation of the government’s promise to ensure health security for all under CMHT and PMJAY. “Schemes meant to save lives have now turned into lifeless paperwork buried in bureaucratic negligence,” she said.
Dialysis, a life-sustaining treatment required three to four times a week, has become a privilege only the wealthy can afford, as the free services once promised by the government have crumbled under unpaid hospital bills. Many patients are reported to be in critical condition, while others have already discontinued treatment.
The protesters appealed to the Governor to intervene directly and take decisive action to release the pending dues without further delay. Regarding this matter the Governor have been silence and had not spell single words.