Harsh Vardhan inaugurates Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, together, inaugurated the Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA) on Wednesday at Siri Fort Auditorium.

SSA is a two month long mega campaign focusing on providing preventive healthcare to the auto, taxi and bus drivers of the region. The campaign is a unique initiative to address the major issues being faced by public transport drivers of the region, with almost all of them being users of CNG.

Pradhan in his address said that 4.5 lakh vehicles which use CNG contribute to the Rs 3,000 Cr business of IGL. He said that new aim should be to increase this business from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore.

Pradhan added that the two month long medical camp at various IGL stations in the Capital will provide free health checkup which includes blood test, sugar test, eye test with the help of doctors from St Stephen Hospital.

On the Fuel Conservation Workshop, the Minister called upon the drivers to conserve fuel and make use of the workshop to get trained in the fuel conservation methods.

Vardhan recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan for Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas and said that country cannot develop without development of all its citizens. The campaign would continue in form of health camps at various CNG stations of IGL till August 31, 2017.