Mangaluru: It was a day of protests in the temple city on Sunday as the district units of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Janata Dal (Secular) staged dharnas against, what they termed, the “privatisation” of the district maternity and children’s hospital. All these parties showed black flags to mark their protest.

However, there was embarrassment for the Congress as the former MLA and Congress leader, U.R. Sabhapathi, sat on a day’s fast along with P.V. Bhandary, convener of the Mahila Hagu Makkala Aspatre Rakshana Okkoota, at the Clock Tower here.

However, it was the BJP which staged a vociferous protest at Joodu Katte, just about 250 metres from Town Hall, the venue of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s function to lay the foundation stone for the hospital.

Addressing the protesters, K. Raghupati Bhat, former MLA, said that the government was leasing the 3.88 acre of land to a private company and not a trust, for a song. The government’s memorandum of understanding was akin to selling the family silver for a song.

The government should ask B.R. Shetty to construct the hospital and leave its management to the government. But the hospital would be manned by doctors, nurses and staff appointed by the firm.

“The land had been donated by the philanthropist, late Haji Abdulla, six decades ago under the condition the land should not be used for commercial purpose, then how could a commercial super-specialty hospital be allowed?” he asked. The BJP workers took out a mock funeral procession. Sunil Kumar, MLA, and Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLC, were present.

The leaders and workers were taken into preventive custody by the police and later released.

Addressing a separate protest meeting at the Clock Tower, Balakrishna Shetty, district secretary of the CPI(M), said that when the present district maternity and children’s hospital was running efficiently, what was the need to privatise it. As per the present agreement, only those with universal cards would get free treatment, but those without will not. This did not help the cause of the poor. The super-specialty hospital in Raichur and 76 primary health centre which were given to the private sector had failed to provide healthcare facilities to the poor, he said.

The JD(S) took out a procession against the move. Mr. Sabhapathi questioned the “sudden desire” of Mr. Shetty to help the poor.