Chandigarh, May 20 (IANS) In a bid to provide the best healthcare services free of cost, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday announced to launch his government's flagship programne of Mohalla Clinics, with 75 clinics to be dedicated in the first phase on August 15.
Chairing a high-level meeting here, Mann said his government would be fulfilling one of the major poll promises with setting up of these clinics both in urban and rural areas in a phased manner on the pattern of Delhi.
He also gave nod to convert the non-functional Sewa Kendras across the state into Mohalla Clinics, thereby refurbishing such complexes, while directing the Principal Secretary, Public Works, to work out modalities for sprucing-up the interiors of Sewa Kendras so that they could be suitably converted into Mohalla Clinics.
The Chief Minister also suggested forming a cluster of five to six adjoining villages by establishing a Mohalla Clinic at a central location, easily accessible to all.
This would help bringing a majority of people residing in rural areas within the ambit of Mohalla Clinics, he said.
Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, informed the Chief Minister about the already existing network of nearly 3000 sub-centres in rural areas being efficiently manned by the trained paramedic staff headed by Community Health Officers.
He mooted a proposal to convert these sub-centres also into Mohalla Clinics, thus widening its scope and outreach so that the maximum number of people residing in villages could be benefitted from the healthcare initiative.
While Congress leaders restrained from commenting on the meeting, sources close to Bittu said that there was nothing much in the meeting which was a courtesy call. However, recent instances of Congress leaders leaving the party have triggered speculation of another Congressman desetring the party.
The BJP-ruled Haryana will convene a day-long special session of the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. A cabinet meeting was held on Sunday under the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who has condemned AAP moving a resolution in the Assembly to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab.
Talking to reporters on Thursday, Gursevwak Singh, the elder brother of Gurwinder Singh, who was one of the four farmers who died, said: "The case should be transferred to Delhi. We all know that the proceedings are being influenced here. No action was taken against the union minister despite his video threatening farmers having gone viral.
The Delhi Police on Thursday said that they have arrested eight persons in a case of vandalism outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. A senior police official confirmed that several teams were conducting raids to nab more people invovled in the case.
Appreciating this initiative of Punjab Mandi Board, Mann said it would benefit to over nine lakh registered farmers, thereby furnishing J-Forms digitally to them for their agriculture produce sold in the markets on their WhatsApp account in real time i.e. immediately on sale being confirmed on the system by the 'arhtiyas' and buyers.
Six gold bars weighing 699.5 grams and valued at Rs 37.30 lakh were detected and seized from a male passenger who arrived by Air India flight AI-952 from Dubai, Customs officials said. He had concealed the gold in his check-in baggage. Further investigation was on.
