Mangalore, Jan 18, 2014: Dr Arun Kumar, Nodal officer for endosulfan rehabilitation Endosulfan victims to avail cashless advanced medical care in 15 specialty hospitals and medical colleges in Dakshina Kannada district.
Addressing the meeting convened by deputy commissioner AB Ibrahim and zilla panchayat CEO Tulsi Maddinani at DC Office on Jan 18,Saturday, Dr Arun said that cashless treatment process for the endosulfan victims will commence soon and identity cards will be distributed to the victims, after district health and family welfare department will sign MoU with more than 15 speciality hospitals and medical colleges including KMC, Fr Muller Medical College, AJ Hospital and Research Centre, KSHEMA and KVG Medical College.
Dr Arun also said that as many as 2,484 victims and identity cards will be distributed to them from Jan 25. The victims will be distributed with three different types of cards based on the severity of the disability. The identity card comprise of details including nature and percentage of disability, photo, address, details of Aadhar Card and BPL card. The victims who require specialized medical care can also get from the listed private speciality hospitals and medical colleges free of cost, he added.
Human rights activist Nithyananda Pai said that around 6,000 persons are affected due to endosulfan in the district and nearly 10 percent of them are severely affected and bed-ridden. Further they must be provided with medical, paramedical and other facilities in a permanent care centre.
DC Ibrahim also instructed officials to conduct a survey to identify bed-ridden endosulfan victims and seek the opinion of parents of permitting to send their kins to permanent care centre. Further a convenient place will be identified to set up a permanent care centre for the victims, he said.
Activists Nithyananda Pai urged the district administration to sanction permission for private radiology centres in Puttur to conduct free scanning for pregnant women to find anomalies in foetus.
