— Photo: PTI

Congress president Sonia Gandhi talks to a petitioner on the concluding day of a medical camp in Rae Bareli on Tuesday.

UNCHAHAR (RAE BARELI): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday stressed the need for people's participation in social welfare measures and said governments alone could not shoulder the burden.

Presiding over the closing function of the month-long free medical camp on the Lifeline Express at Unchahar railway station in her constituency, Ms. Gandhi exhorted the social organisations to play a pro-active role in mitigating the sufferings of the poor and the needy.

The free medical camp was inaugurated on September 22, 2006 and it would be formally declared closed on October 18. A record number of 7,233 patients were treated on the Lifeline Express, which has four coaches, including two convertible fully equipped operating units and two post-operative units.

Ms. Gandhi said the free medical treatment, under the aegis of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) was one such initiative, which, she said also fulfilled the former Prime Minister's dream of making India strong and resilient where the weaker sections were taken care of.

The United Progressive Alliance Chairperson said the RGF had launched several social welfare programmes with the focus being on development and help of the needy irrespective of which government was in power in the States.

Though the RGF had limited resources, it had successfully made forays into areas like education, women empowerment and health, which were hitherto left untouched, Ms. Gandhi said.

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