Ludhiana (Punjab), Feb 4 (PTI) The 300-bed ESIC Hospital in Ludhiana will be upgraded to a 500-bed facility, AAP MP Sanjeev Arora said on Saturday citing an assurance given by Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav.

In a statement here, the Rajya Sabha member said he met the minister on Tuesday to discuss various issues related to ESIC (Employees' State Insurance Corporation) hospitals in Punjab.

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During the meeting, he thanked the minister for responding to his question in Rajya Sabha on December 22 last year regarding ESIC hospitals in Punjab.

He said he apprised the minister that there are pending requests from the Punjab government for six new ESIC hospitals at various locations in the state.

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He apprised Yadav that Punjab was badly in need of more ESIC hospitals as in comparison to the national average of one bed for 2,300 insured workers under ESIC, the state has one bed for 4,100 insured workers.

Arora apprised the minister that the current ESIC Hospital in Ludhiana was established in the 1970s when the number of workers was 10 per cent of the current strength. He said the minister had assured him that the 300-bed hospital will be upgraded to a 500-bed facility in the future.

There is a dire need to have another ESIC Hospital between Khanna and Sahnewal on the National Highway 44 or nearby so that industrial workers and their dependents can be catered to, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)