Fresh lease of life for cancer, brain tumour patients as Swasthya Sathi cards get issued the same day

Kolkata: Mainur Bhangi is suffering from brain tumour and needs immediate surgery. His family members approached the state government for Swasthya Sathi card at a Duare Sarkar programme camp and in almost no time the same has been issued giving top priority for Bhangi's timely treatment availing the facility of the health scheme.

Bhangi's family getting Swasthya Sathi card on the same day of application is not an isolated case as there are several others across the state who have reaped similar benefits from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent outreach programme.

Cancer patient Munir Khan (name changed), Ajima Bibi, who needs urgent nasal surgery and Minu Ghosh are some of the many who have witnessed this humane face of governance in Bengal in which state government officials came forward and provided them with Swasthya Sathi cards at minimum possible time so that they can avail the cashless treatment facility, maximum to the tune of Rs 5 lakh for a family per year.

The Chief Minister has recently announced Swasthya Sathi scheme for each and every resident of the state benefitting 10 crore population. Most importantly, with the Duare Sarkar programme, people are now applying to get enrolled under the scheme at the camps set up in their respective Gram Panchayats or municipal wards. More than 6 lakh people have applied for the same in the first four days of the initiative.

Till Saturday evening, 19.51 lakh people had attended the camps of Duare Sarkar.

According to a senior official, it was at the camp organised at Lodna Mankhamar High School at Onda in Bankura where both family members of Bhangi and Ajima had turned up on Friday for Swasthya Sathi card. Knowing that they will be immensely benefitted after its issuance, cards in the name of the woman head of their families were processed on a priority following necessary verifications and collection of biometric. The cards were printed at the camp itself and handed over to the members of both the families.

Similar was the case of Munit Khan when his wife turned up at the camp at ward number 14 of Bishnupur Municipality. Knowing that her husband is a cancer patient and needs urgent treatment, officials went to their house and handed over the Swasthya Sathi card after processing the application that was submitted on December 1.

In Malda, Minu Ghosh visited the camp at Uttarpanchandapur II in Kaliachak II block as she had earlier received the "Unique Registration Number (URN)" after submitting the application to get enrolled in the state health scheme, but was yet to receive the card. The officials collected her biometric data then and there and the card was handed over to Ghosh in just two hours.

Besides setting a record of issuing Swasthya Sathi cards in no time, officials attending the camps in Murshidabad, Kalimpong and North Dinajpur took exemplary steps to provide caste certificates and job cards under the MGNREGS scheme to people in just one hour after submitting application forms along with the required documents.

In Kalimpong, Tenzing Lhekdup Bhutia, Aditya Subba, Tshring Norbu Subba, Shreya Gupta, Anish Khati, Avyasg Hingmang, Prenisha Sewa and Dibya Gupta got their caste certificates in no time when they visited the Duare Sarkar camp on Saturday.