The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Several receive medical relief at Governor’s Janata Darshan

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Sunday, Jan 06, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Several receive medical relief at Governor’s Janata Darshan

Special Correspondent

Rs. 25,000 each was given to 34 patients
for cardiac treatment
NGOs also joined in giving free medical
relief for the needy

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Hearing grievances: The surging crowds at the Janata Darshan at Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: Governor Rameshwar Thakur, on Saturday, received over 1,200 petitions pertaining to medical relief, heart surgeries among others from the people during the course of the two-hour Janata Darshan.

Moved by the plight of hundreds of people, including the old and infirm queuing up at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha, the Governor in an obvious attempt to reach out to the people, distributed cheques of Rs. 25,000 each to 34 patients who will undergo treatment at the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology and Narayana Hrudayalaya here.

With the Government entering into an agreement with three private trusts on providing free medical treatment about a fortnight ago, nearly 300 people came to the Janata Darshan and submitted petitions to the Governor seeking medical relief. Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology has agreed to provide free medical treatment to 15 cancer patients who met the Governor.

C.N. Manjunath, director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, told presspersons that the hospital has decided to provide free treatment to six patients belonging to below poverty line families. They will undergo open heart surgery for replacement of valve in a few days. It will also provide medical relief to 70 patients, while Narayana Hrudayalaya will give relief to 17 patients.

Dr. Manjunath, a noted cardiologist, who participated in the Janata Darshan, said the people with BPL ration cards or the urban poor with valid documents can avail of free treatment at the hospital.

Coming forward

A non-governmental organisation, Social Voluntary Service Empowerment, has come forward to adopt patients belonging to BPL families. The Government had already signed an agreement with three NGOs Shantilal Kankaria, Ranka and Champalal Shand of Bangalore, to provide free medical treatment to poor patients.

One of the petitioners, Preethi, mother of three-month-old son Abhishek, came from a village in Jewargi taluk in Gulbarga district, and sought medical relief for her son, who has a heart ailment. Mr. Thakur told her to get free medical treatment at Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology.

Several hundreds of petitioners young and old from far flung areas of the State visited the Secretariat, perhaps for the first time, and met the Governor. A majority of the grievances were related to jobs, housing sites, pensions and loans from B.R. Ambedkar Development Corporation. The Governor told the petitioners that all steps would be taken to ensure justice to all who came to him.

Harish, a physically challenged person who holds a BE degree, submitted a petition to Mr. Thakur seeking employment as an assistant engineer in the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). This was the second time that he had petitioned the Governor with the same request. He had written an entrance examination for the assistant engineer’s post.

“The Government has reserved three per cent jobs in KPTCL for the disabled but this is yet to be implemented,” he said.

Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) complained to the Governor that minority colleges had violated the admission policy and denied admission to minority students. They also urged the Government to hold Common Entrance Test (CET) for admissions to professional courses on two days.

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