Mumbai, July 8 -- Over 150 people held a protest from Mankhurd to Govandi on Monday against the privatisation of Lallubhai Compound Multispeciality and Shatabdi hospitals, and also demanded to improve the services, functionality and the diagnostic facilities of the hospitals. This comes after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to partially privatise six hospitals in Mumbai under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and issued tenders to the hospitals. About 150 to 200 people including progressive youth groups, doctors, political activists and resident associations staged a large-scale protest under the umbrella of the "Save Hospital, Stop Privatisation" action committee alongside the residents of M-East ward starting at Lallubhai compound in Mankhurd, moving up to the ward office in Govandi. With nearly 80% of the population living in slums, the underprivileged residents of the ward depend on Lallubhai Compound Multispeciality and Shatabdi hospitals in Govandi for their treatment. "The majority of the citizens here live in slums, and do not even have regular nutritious food supply. In this context, effective government public health services become a matter of life and death," said Baban Thake, Mumbai coordinator of Revolutionary workers party of India, a part of the committee. The committee protested for scraping the tenders. They also demanded to increase the functionality of ICUs and NICUs in maternity homes within 30 days, start the services of Maharashtra Nagar Maternity Home immediately and also set up free diagnostic centres. The committee also suggested that the corporation to organise monthly meetings to address public issues....