A good start to a long TN innings
Proving itself to be a people-oriented government, the DMK regime, now just over 100 days old, has made a good start by giving importance to issues relating to public health, livelihood and development of industries that can address the problem of unemployment.
One of the steps taken by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on the public health front is the launching of the ‘Healthcare at Doorsteps’ scheme launched after assuming office on May 7.
Under the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam initiative, inaugurated at Samanapalli village in Krishnagiri district, preliminary healthcare delivery will be taken to the doorsteps of the people.
Through health check-ups those above the age of 45 years in rural areas would be screened for non-communicable diseases like blood pressure and diabetes and treated.
Stalin’s scheme was in line with several such healthcare initiatives launched by former chief minister Karunanidhi during his tenures. Stalin had rightly chosen the late leader’s 98th birth anniversary on June 3 to lay the foundation stone for the construction of a multispeciality hospital at King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research, Chennai.
The proposed 500bed hospital will be constructed at an outlay of `250 crore.
Other initiatives in healthcare include the New Health Insurance Scheme for government employees and their families and expanding the health care net by increasing hospital beds. On the Covid front, too, quick steps were taken to mitigate the suffering of the public during the second wave of the pandemic that affected 3.13 lakh people.
Apart from setting up round the clock war rooms at the district and state levels to audit oxygen needs and rush supplies, the government appointed 3,075 doctors, 5,362 staff nurses, 1,362 para medical staff, 626 Health Inspectors and 5,828 health workers.
For emergency purposes, 550 Pharmacists posts were created for the Corona control activities. In a bid to revive the industrial sector that had taken a hit in the pandemic, Stalin signed 35 MoUs worth `17,141 crore.