Mysuru: The Employees State Insurance (ESI) Hospital on KRS Road here has come under severe criticism for lack of doctors, scanning machines and toilets, besides the building construction being incomplete.

Addressing a press meet at Pathrakartara Bhavan here on Saturday, B. Siddaraju, General Secretary of ESI Vimadarara Hitharakshana Samithi alleged that the assurances given by the MPs, Ministers and MLAs to solve the problems at the ESI Hospital remained as only assurances.

He said that the Hospital was to be upgraded in 18 months and the previous building was demolished, but though seven years have passed, the construction has remained incomplete and the patients were being treated in rooms resembling cowsheds.

He further said that the Hospital lacks lady doctors to treat pregnant women and do not even have scanning machines and added that they had approached MPs Pratap Simha, R. Dhruvanarayan and C.S. Puttaraju, the then Labour Minister Parameshwar Nayak, Minister Santosh Lad, ESI Corporation Director Nayak, former PM H.D. Deve Gowda and had apprised them of the problems but in vain.

Stating that the hospital lacks toilets, he alleged that the hospital has only stairs and lacks lift facility and ramp for the specially-abled persons.

He said that though they were staging dharna in front of the hospital, no action has been taken so far and warned of intensifying the protest if facilities were not provided at the earliest.

Samithi President H.S. Jagadish, Convener Ramakrishna and others were present.