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.
Accompanying AAP's chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann in Mohali, near here, Kejriwal promised that for the safety of the businessmen, no leader or official would intimidate anyone or get him raided.
There has been a spurt in smuggling of contraband, arms and ammunition in view of the Punjab Assembly elections scheduled on February 20, while attempts were also made for infiltration along the Punjab border.
The police said that as per an initial probe, it has emerged that the four youths were busy clicking selfies on the tracks when they were hit by a train. The incident took place at 5.15 pm when the Jan Shatabdi Express, which was going from Sarai Rohilla in Delhi to Ajmer, was crossing the Basai-Dhankot railway station.
In a latest advisory issued on Tuesday, the Embassy of India in Kiev has asked Indian nationals in Ukraine, particularly students whose stay is not essential, to consider leaving the country temporarily in the wake of the current situation.
Ashish Mishra had moved the Lucknow bench of the High Court seeking insertion of sections 302 (murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC that were 'inadvertently' not mentioned in the high court order as the jail authorities would not release him due to the omission.
An interstate ganja supplier was arrested and 305 kg of the contraband valued at Rs 2 crore in the international market was recovered from his possession in the national capital, an official said here on Tuesday. The accused was identified as Shyam Sundar, 29, a resident of Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh.
