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A health mela a day, keeps rivals away: The Pioneer
New Delhi, Feb 20: Ahead of the announcement of poll schedules, it`s time for mass contact programme for the sitting Lok Sabha MPs. 80 per cent of them had tried to revive their rapport with their respective electorates in style.
New Delhi, Feb 20: Ahead of the announcement of poll schedules, it's time for mass contact programme for the sitting Lok Sabha MPs. 80 per cent of them had tried to revive their rapport with their respective electorates in style.
It was one of those rare occasions when both the leader and voters are happy with each other, thanks to the Health Ministry. While the electorate got a free medical check-up, the leaders got an opportunity to please them, at the cost of the Government. For a change, rival political parties are not making noises against the ruling party.
The dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha saw an unusual boom - "positive" health melas held across the length and breath of the country from January 15 to February 15. The scheme was further extended for another three days. The Government had earmarked Rs 43.36 crore for the scheme with Rs eight lakh for each constituency.
District magistrates were designated as nodal officers and each MP could organise one or more health camps in his parliamentary constituency.
According to the Health Ministry, 480 MPs out of a total 542 made use of the scheme. A senior official of the Ministry said: "Leaders of all political parties, top Union Ministers and Opposition leaders have benefited the people in their constituencies through this scheme and the 62 MPs who did not avail this facility are mostly ruling BJP leaders. The mantra to stay fit have caught up with all."
Explaining the prefix "positive" with health melas, a senior leader said: "The scheme was not only for patients but those who are healthy also came for a regular check-up with the entire family. In the remote corners of the country where medical facilities are lacking, they got all kinds of facilities under one roof." The patients and their attendants returned home thanking the leader.
With elections two months away, it was the biggest advantage for the potential candidates. The Health Ministry officials are also not complaining who instead highlighted the positive aspects of the scheme. They said the melas gave health services for the poor at their doorstep free of cost. This time around, they had roped in the Indian Medical Association to use their expertise in the field. The leaders in collaboration with gynaecologists combined the health melas with "Vande Matram", another scheme for pregnant women.
The dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha saw an unusual boom - "positive" health melas held across the length and breath of the country from January 15 to February 15. The scheme was further extended for another three days. The Government had earmarked Rs 43.36 crore for the scheme with Rs eight lakh for each constituency.
District magistrates were designated as nodal officers and each MP could organise one or more health camps in his parliamentary constituency.
According to the Health Ministry, 480 MPs out of a total 542 made use of the scheme. A senior official of the Ministry said: "Leaders of all political parties, top Union Ministers and Opposition leaders have benefited the people in their constituencies through this scheme and the 62 MPs who did not avail this facility are mostly ruling BJP leaders. The mantra to stay fit have caught up with all."
Explaining the prefix "positive" with health melas, a senior leader said: "The scheme was not only for patients but those who are healthy also came for a regular check-up with the entire family. In the remote corners of the country where medical facilities are lacking, they got all kinds of facilities under one roof." The patients and their attendants returned home thanking the leader.
With elections two months away, it was the biggest advantage for the potential candidates. The Health Ministry officials are also not complaining who instead highlighted the positive aspects of the scheme. They said the melas gave health services for the poor at their doorstep free of cost. This time around, they had roped in the Indian Medical Association to use their expertise in the field. The leaders in collaboration with gynaecologists combined the health melas with "Vande Matram", another scheme for pregnant women.