Ludhiana, Aug 15 (IANS) Fulfilling a poll promise to provide free and quality health services to the people of Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday dedicated an Aam Aadmi Clinic in this industrial city.
A total of 75 such clinics were simultaneously inaugurated across the state, setting in motion the first step towards revolutionising primary health care facilities in Punjab.
"On this historic day, the Aam Aadmi Party government has dedicated these clinics to the people to ensure that they have access to quality healthcare services, without paying a single penny," said the Chief Minister, while dedicating the clinic.
The Chief Minister said these clinics will be opened in every nook and corner of the state, adding, that in big villages, two such clinics will be opened for the convenience of the people.
He said in the first phase, 75 such Aam Aadmi clinics have been dedicated to people to mark the 75th Independence Day.
The Chief Minister said that every Aam Aadmi clinic will have a staff of four-five persons, including an MBBS doctor, a lab technician and a nurse, to diagnose and treat the patients.
Mann said 41 packages with around 100 clinical tests will be offered to the people free of cost in these Aam Aadmi Clinics. He said his government has fulfilled one of the major poll promises with setting up of these clinics both in urban and rural areas.
The Chief Minister envisioned that these clinics will be a stepping stone in revamping the healthcare system in Punjab.
Mann expressed hope that 90 per cent of patients will get treated from these clinics only thereby reducing the burden in hospitals.
He said only the serious patients with major ailments will be further referred to the hospitals.
The Chief Minister said that this revolutionary decision will rejuvenate the healthcare system in state. He said the patients will have facility of online appointment in these Clinics.
Mann said that these clinics will provide free medicines and primary diagnostic facilities.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the state government is according top priority to health and education sectors.
He said the government Civil Hospitals across the state will be spruced up in the coming days for imparting quality health services to people.
Mann also said 2,140 well qualified doctors have applied for these posts.
Punjab shares a 553-km barbed-wire fenced international border with Pakistan which is under the vigil of nearly 135 BSF battalions. The drug network operates along the Afghanistan-Pakistan-India route.
Police are looking at this angle. The incident took place near Kengeri at 1 a.m. and the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals. According to the police, the bus had first hit the 4-feet tall road divider and then rammed into the Namma Metro Pillar number 545.
Chairing a meeting of the Special Task Force (STF) team led by its chief Harpreet Sidhu here, Mann said neither political persons nor officers would be spared if found conniving with the drug mafia. He told the police officers to work freely without any political pressure with a sharpened focus to make Punjab a drug-free state.
According to the SHO of Cantonment police station, Rajeev Singh, Ram Lakhan's wife informed the police that her husband had confessed to killing their son following a fight with her. A police team went looking for the 'body' but could not find the child.
Police said that doctors gave him enema to recover the jewellery from his stomach. The man along with his girlfriend was invited by a friend for Eid celebrations at her home.
"The vehicle was on its way from Udhampur to Jammu when it went out of the driver's control and rolled down into a deep gorge near Jambhu Zoo."In the incident, three persons identified as Gurdeep Singh, Sham Lal and Vikas Kumar, all residents of Punjab, died on the spot".
