Mobile Medical Units launched for Tea gardens in Assam

Saying that Assam’s identity is synonymous with its tea gardens but the large working labourer population in the tea gardens have not been given access to quality healthcare, Nadda stated that that the high Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) among pregnant women in tea garden areas due to anaemia and other diseases have been a major cause of worry and lack healthcare infrastructure in the gardens have not been helping the matters.

“To address this concern, dedicated MMUs have been launched to provide healthcare in interior tea gardens,” Nadda said.
         
It is to be mentioned that 320 tea gardens where existing healthcare facilities are not adequate and which need immediate care, shall be covered by 80 numbers of MMU vehicles.

One MMU will cover four tea gardens in total. It will operate for seven days in one tea garden and then the MMU would move to the next tea garden.

Completing the cycle of nearly a month, the MMU would return to the first village and begin its operation.

Nadda informed that depending upon the performance of these MMUs, more such units would be added in the coming days which would bring down the operational gap from one month to fifteen days. 
                
Saying that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given lot of impetus to development works in the Northeast region, Nadda stated that setting up of the AIIMS in Guwahati would be a huge fillip to the healthcare scenario of the state as well as the region and Rs 1000 crore has already been earmarked for the AIIMS.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the state government with the active cooperation of central government is focussing swift implantation of development works in the tea gardens and all round development in sectors like health and education would be achieved for the tea community.

He also said that 62, 000 people have received free X Rays in the government hospitals after the launch of free diagnostic facilities and this is a commendable feat of the Health Department of the state.

Sonowal called upon the people to take advantage of the government schemes and cooperate fully with the government for swift implementation of the schemes. He also thanked the Central Government for extending cooperation in developing the health sector of the state.

Sonowal also said that the AMRIT Pharmacies in the five Medical Colleges of the state at Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Guwahati, Silchar and Barpeta have been able to provide essential medicines of heart ailments and other critical diseases at subsidised rates which have brought succour to the underprivileged sections of the society.

State Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was also present in the meeting, said that tea garden managements have been asked time and again to abide by the Plantation Labour Act and provide better medical facilities to tea workers but they have failed to act on it. He also asked the tea gardens to give three months leave to pregnant women labours who otherwise have to work very late into their pregnancy and it increases health concerns for the mother as well as the baby.

“Two thousand rupees would be reimbursed by the government to the tea gardens for the loss of work for giving three months leave to the women labourers,” Sarma said. 

Sarma also said that recent Cabinet Meeting decision to raise the quota from 8 to 18 in MBBS courses in the government medical colleges of the state for the students of tea community would go a long way in creating human resource pool within the community.

He also said that despite asking for land to set up government high schools in every tea garden, the tea garden managements have ignored the government’s request and the government is now considering the option of de-leasing one acre of land in every tea garden for setting high schools.  

MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Pallab Lochan Das, several MLAs, Chief Secreary V.K.Pipersenia, Commissioner and Secretary Health and Family Welfare Sameer Kumar Sinha, MD National Health Mission, Assam JVN Subramaniam were also present on the occasion. 

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)