The Hindu : Health mela evokes good response

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 03, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Health mela evokes good response

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, FEB. 2. The three-day health mela, jointly organised by the Union Government, the State Government, and private health institutions, opened to a good response at the Malleswaram playground here today. There were 40 stalls catering to various systems of medicine, health insurance, and so on.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State unit is involved in health mela in a big way as it is being held in Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by its President, H.N. Ananth Kumar. While the government institutions are providing health tips, the BJP is egging people on to go for health check-ups, and insurance schemes.

At the inauguration of the mela, Mr. Ananth Kumar said the Centre had started schemes to ensure health security for the people at large. Under the Government's health insurance scheme, a poor patient who paid Rs. 100 a year was covered for health check-up up to Rs. 10,000 and general surgery of up to Rs. 30,000, besides getting 14 days' wages.

This scheme should be introduced in all parts of the country and non-governmental organisations should promote it, he said.

Mr. Ananth Kumar said the State had received Rs. five crore from the Centre's National Illness Fund.

The Union Health Ministry, he said, had earmarked Rs. eight lakh each to organise health melas during the "Swasthya Jagruth Maah" which would be held from January 15 to February 15 in every Lok Sabha constituency. The health mela, called "Parivan Kalyan Avam Swasthya Mela", was aimed at providing quality services with convergence and integrated delivery for all segments of the population, targeting about six crore people.

Inaugurating the mela, Balagangadharanath swamiji of Sri Adichunchanagiri Math lauded the efforts of the A.B. Vajpayee Government in providing food, health, and education to the masses.

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