Magaluru: Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader held a press meet at the Eden Club here, on July 18.
Addressing the mediapersons, U T Khader said that a District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) will be inaugurated at theWenlock Hospital to test children affected by Endosulfan or those who are physically challenged. “Through this, we can check and treat children in the same centre. This is the first of its kind in the district hospital. Through this, children can be screened and treated at an early stage for any problems which may help them a great deal in life.”
“When Asha workers bring children having health issues to the hospital, we can screen them and detect any problems they face. If we screen the children and treat them early, we can eliminate many health issues in children. They will be screened in DEIC and and referred to a doctor. Under the RBSK scheme, Asha workers will go to every school in the Taluk level and identify children having problems. They will then bring them to the DEIC to be treated as necessary,” he added.
Under the Arogya Shree scheme, the hospital will get some funds which can be utilized to treat the patients. The Swarna Arogya scheme aims to strengthen medical services and also provide quality and affordable healthcare to people living in rural areas. “We are combining various grants and treating patients in hospitals. We will release funds for the renovation of the building for this purpose.”
Dr U V Shenoy, a nodal officer for DEIC, speaking on the occasion said that if a child is suffering from any disease, he/she will be screened and treated. “We have identified 622 children from the district under the SWT scheme and the Wenlock hospital is one among six hospitals which are identified under secondary care sectors. Children from 1-18 years of age will be treated in the DEIC.”
Politics
In the assembly session, the opposition leader alleged that CM Siddaramaiah is the cause for farmers committing suicide and that Rahul Gandhi has been visiting all the states except Karnataka. Khader said, “We welcome the concern of the opposition leader who wants Rahul Gandhi to visit Karnataka, but the allegation put on the CM is wrong. The Congress government led by Siddaramaiah has given priority for the welfare of farmers. When the farmers faced losses, the central government did not come to help them but the state government helped them. What is the contribution of the central government? Why is the central government not implementing any schemes for the farmers? Only clicking selfies and circulating them in the media will not help the farmers to fill their stomach. So far, the Modi government has not done any programmes for the welfare of the people, youth or students. When Manmohan Singh was doing a good job, the same BJP party was criticizing him. Now, there are a number of soldiers who have been attacked on the Pakistan border but the Prime minister is not taking any action. When the Congress government was in power, the BJP leaders were against the Indian cricket team playing against the Pakistani cricket team. But now, the Central government has given green signal to play against the Pakistani cricket team in Dubai. People are watching everything.”
When asked about the rumours of getting the post of Home Minister, Khader replied, “The Home Minister is performing his duty well and he is the right person for the job.”
Crime in Ullal Constituency
“From many days in my constituency, some anti-social elements have been trying to create a rift between communities. They come on bikes and attack people. I have instructed the police officers to monitor the activities of anti-social elements. The miscreants come on bikes wearing masks and attack people, which has created fear in them. I have instructed the police to take the people of the constituency into confidence and provide justice. They are free to investigate and do their job.”
When asked about the police failure in investigating such cases, Khader said that there is no pressure from political leaders and the police have been given a free hand to take strict action on such people who are trying to spoil the peace in society.
“The police should form a team of efficient officers and investigate the case. People may come from any district to create confusion and fear, but it is the duty of the police to curb such crimes. There are very few anti-social elements, who are a burden to the society as well as their families. They should be arrested and given stringent punishment. The police should improve their performance by taking the people into confidence. The police should not involve themselves more in settling civil issues but concentrate on maintaining law and order,” he said.