Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta said the long-standing demand for comprehensive health insurance coverage for the secondary, or outsourced, workforce of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) will soon be implemented.Addressing the press on Saturday, Chowta said the policy framework, initiated in Feb 2025, had been pursued with ONGC chairman Arun Kumar Singh and the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas. The scheme aims to extend mediclaim coverage to contract workers and their dependents who are not covered under the Employees’ State Insurance scheme.“Following preliminary discussions at the DC’s office, we will finalise all technical modalities next week and ensure swift clearance from the ONGC board to roll out the health insurance policy within a month,” Chowta said.He said he had immediately taken up the issue with the Union petroleum ministry following the death of MRPL contract electrician Manish Karkada in an industrial accident. Chowta thanked Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri and the MRPL management for their prompt response. “No amount of financial assistance can ever replace the loss of a family’s breadwinner, but it was our bounden duty to secure the maximum possible compensation and guarantee a job to support them in their darkest hour,” he said.Karkada, a resident of Haleyangadi, died in the blast and subsequent fire in the Coker Hydrotreater Unit (CHTU) of MRPL on Sept 30. The company has announced financial assistance and insurance benefits totalling around Rs 1.2 crore for his family.
