CM announces `1,000 pension for filaria-hit

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao clarified that the government has no plans to extend the KCR Kits scheme to private hospitals.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced `1,000 pension per month to people suffering from lymphatic filariasis (filaria).

Recently, the CM’s daughter and Nizamabad MP, K. Kavitha and R&B minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao met the CM seeking financial assistance for these patients.

The CM said 47,000 patients will be given pensions from April 1 and allocation will be made in the Budget 201819 for the purpose.

The CM also announced that he will offer free medical diagnostic tests to people at the government’s cost by taking a village as a unit as the government believes in the dictum that ‘prevention is better than cure’.

Mr Chandrasekhar Rao said the Telangana sate should become a role model in the public health sector in the country.

The CM held a review meeting on medical and health department at Pragati Bhavan.

Recently, Ms Kavitha represented to the CM that in the constituencies they are representing, many people were suffering from ‘filaria’ and are not able to even walk. They need to be helped by the government, they said.

They wanted the government to take steps to prevent the spread of the disease and help those suffering from filaria.

The CM discussed the issue in the meeting as there are also people suffering from filaria in his own constituency. He asked officials to arrange for medicines and treatment for such patients.

The Chief Minister said, “Assess the number of filaria patients in the state. Conduct a comprehensive survey and go to villages and collect the data.”

Mr Chandrasekhar Rao said in countries like the US, everyone goes for diagnostic tests on a regular basis.

“Similarly, in Telangana state, people should be educated to go in for the diagnostic tests regularly. Those with awareness and money will go for the diagnostic tests but the poor living in villages and rural areas will merely go to hospital when they are ill and never go for any diagnostic tests. Hence it is becoming difficult to identify the disease in the primary stages. Early detection will help cure the disease. But in many cases it is detected only when the disease is at the final stage. This should not happen. The government will conduct tests for everyone in every village on a regular basis. Collect the blood samples and conduct tests for all the diseases,” the Chief Minister said.