Free health tests to be provided to poor children: Telangana Minister Seethakka
Women and Child Welfare Minister D Anasuya alias Seethakka has announced that under the new scheme 'Bala Bharosa', the state government will conduct health tests on all children aged between zero and five. After conducting tests, the government will provide free treatment to the children who are in need.
The minister, along with Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, held a video conference with the district collectors on progress of 'Indira Mahila Shakti' programme from the state Secretariat here on Monday.
During the conference, she instructed the officials to identify the lands for setting up of solar plants and petrol pumps to be managed by SHG groups, as agreements have already been made for this with companies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
In Telangana's Mulugu, containers crack the access code in cut-off tribal hamlets
In the thick of Telangana's forest belt, where rivers swell and roads vanish during the monsoon, a new kind of lifeline has emerged — one that comes in a metal box. For Allem Roja, a 30-year-old Koya Adivasi woman from Pochapur hamlet in SS Tadvai mandal of Mulugu district, reaching a hospital used to be an ordeal. The local government primary health centre (PHC) is just 5 kilometres away, but without a bridge or a proper road, especially in the rains, it may as well have been in another world. 'Now, with this container health centre in our village, we are able to get first-aid and treatment for fevers and minor ailments right here,' says Roja, cradling her one-year-old daughter during a visit to the facility with mild fever and fatigue on July 31. Following a general check-up, medical officer at the Kodishala PHC, B. Pavan Kumar prescribes her medicines and rest. Everything she needs is provided on the spot. The container clinic is a modest, prefabricated unit set up in July 2024 to serve forest-fringe hamlets like Pochapur that lie within the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary. It is the first such healthcare facility in Telangana — a pilot effort driven by local MLA and Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Danasari Anasuya, better known as Seethakka. The initiative has reached far beyond Pochapur, extending its impact to several sparsely populated hamlets and Gotti Koya gudems — settlements of an indigenous tribe originally from Chhattisgarh. These communities migrated here in the mid-2000s after fleeing violent clashes between the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and security forces. Among those forces was the Salwa Judum, a controversial, state-backed anti-Maoist militia formed in 2005, which displaced thousands of tribal families. Today, many of those who escaped the conflict have resettled in these forested parts of Mulugu district, nearly 80% of which lies within dense jungle terrain. But prefabricated container-based centres, both for health and education, are now rewriting what is possible for these long-neglected settlements. 'Minister Seethakka inuagurated this first-of-its-kind facility on July 13 last year just before the monsoon,' says Dr. Pavan Kumar. 'In one year, we have treated around 3,000 patients, including 457 fever cases. We conducted rapid diagnostic tests for 448 people and found six cases of malaria — three each of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. Only two patients needed referral to higher centres,' he points out. The facility, which operates as a sub-centre under Kodishala PHC, also handled 12 antenatal and seven postnatal cases. Dr. Pavan Kumar visits the centre twice a week, supported by an Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM) and five Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). 'It covers five villages of Pochapur, Narsapur, Aligudem, Bandala and Bollepalli, all under Bandala gram panchayat,' he says. A health system made of steel The idea, according to District Collector T.S. Divakara, was born out of pure necessity as people couldn't travel even 5 kilometres to Kodishala or 35 kilometres to Pasra town through forest terrain, especially during the rains: 'Permanent structures are not allowed inside the sanctuary due to forest regulations. So we thought, why not a container?' Built at a cost of ₹7 lakh, the structure houses four beds and a small laboratory with washrooms available right outside. It may not be fancy, but it has been transformational for many. Allem Ashok, a young post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Kakatiya University, Warangal, and native of Pochapur, says absenteeism among staff at the main PHC in Kodishala remains an issue. 'I have filed several complaints with the District Medical & Health Officer and the Collector,' he says while acknowledging the container facility as a welcome change. 'Many of us avoid going to hospitals as we rely on herbal remedies passed down by our elders,' says Kursam Bikshapathi, another local resident. But when emergencies do occur, the barriers are real. Just last month, a pregnant woman named Gummadi Krishnaveni from Aligudem was carried through waist-deep floodwaters by family members and neighbours to reach the nearest motorable road at Bollepalli. The kutcha road was submerged and impassable. She was eventually taken to the Government Area Hospital in Mulugu in an ambulance. The incident triggered criticism of the Kodishala PHC staff, particularly because Krishnaveni herself worked as an ANM at the Pochapur container facility. Some locals accused the health staff of negligence. Denying the allegations, Dr. Pavan Kumar says Krishnaveni, then 28 weeks pregnant, had gone into premature labour in the early hours of July 24. 'Our team reached her with help from locals despite the flood. She was shifted first to the Government General Hospital, Mulugu, and then referred to the Government Maternity Hospital in Warangal,' he adds. He emphasises that as per the Collector's instructions, pregnant women nearing full term (34-40 weeks) had already been moved to safer locations due to the floods. 'This was a rare pre-term case but it was handled promptly.' Beyond healthcare, the Minister's container initiative has expanded to include education. Work is under way on a cement concrete road connecting Kodishala to Pochapur, and bridges are being constructed across several streams. 'We got the idea last monsoon,' recalls Seethakka, who belongs to the Koya tribal community and was a former Naxalite. 'I know these hamlets and their struggles; I grew up here and worked as a revolutionary among them. When the Collector mentioned using containers like we had for an Anganwadi in my village, it clicked.' The first container facility came up in just 20 days. Two more have since been established — at Ilapuram in Kannaigudem mandal on the banks of river Godavari and at Edjarlapalle in Wazeedu mandal. Pucca houses under the Indiramma Housing scheme are also being allotted to eligible families, with 5,000 sanctioned in the first phase for Mulugu district. 'Our goal is to improve living conditions in these Agency areas, from housing to schools to healthcare, considering the backwardness of the district. We are also promoting eco-tourism in places like Laknavaram Lake, Tadvi forest and Bogatha waterfall,' Seethakka says. She also highlights Mulugu's cultural importance: 'We have the UNESCO-recognised Ramappa Temple and host Asia's largest tribal congregation — the biannual Sammakka-Sarakka Jatara at Medaram.' Education in a box Following the health centres, Telangana's first container school came up at Bangarupalle, a hamlet in Kannaigudem mandal in September last year. Earlier, students of this government primary school used to attend classes under a leaking thatched roof. Built in 10 days at a cost of ₹13.5 lakh, the 25x25 ft container now serves 21 students from nursery to Class 5 and is equipped with a digital board, solar panels, and basic furniture. 'Earlier, classes would be suspended if it rained due to roof leakage. Now it is a proper school,' says former village sarpanch Chinta Chandraiah. The students belong mainly to the Gotti Koya community, which settled here 25 years ago after their migration from Chhattisgarh. Teachers say the digital board, powered by the rooftop solar panels, has improved student engagement, though forest laws still prevent power lines from being laid. The hamlet has just 37 families and remains cut off during rains due to swollen streams. Teachers often struggle to reach the school. One of them, A. Saraswathi, commutes daily on a motorcycle with her husband by navigating the dangerous terrain. 'Now, we are not scared of snakes or any other poisonous creatures entering the school unlike in the past,' she says. But Seethakka believes more needs to change. 'The Centre has relaxed rules for mining in forest areas but not for essential public services. Without roads, development is not possible. Forest laws should not block electricity, hospitals, or schools for tribal communities,' she says, calling for amendments to forest regulations that prevent basic infrastructure in tribal areas. She urges that electricity be provided through solar power systems and boundaries be clearly marked for tribal farmland to avoid disputes. Her consistent push appears to be paying off. On August 3, the Telangana State Board for Wildlife cleared several long-pending development works in Mulugu's Agency areas, including new roads, a 30-bed hospital in Pakhal Kothaguda (in neighbouring Mahabubabad district) and safari vehicles for promoting eco-tourism in SS Tadvai and Eturnagaram mandals. A model in the making Collector Divakara says while container-based services are not permanent solutions, they are practical given Mulugu's terrain and restrictions. As per the 2011 Census, the population of the district stood at 2.94 lakh, spread across 75,600 families. Scheduled Tribes constitute 29.36% of the total population. More container schools are in the pipeline, including one in Eturnagaram mandal with corporate social responsibility funds from ECIL. 'We are glad the Integrated Tribal Development Agency in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is adopting our model,' says the Collector. In these forests where roads are scarce and help scarcer still, a steel container means more than convenience; it means dignity. Where floods cut off access and trust in systems runs low, the container isn't a stopgap. It is a sign that the State hasn't looked away. Not a miracle, but a beginning for sure.
The Hindu
01-08-2025
- The Hindu
Camps under ‘Nalam Kakkum Stalin' initiative to offer range of services
The 'Nalam Kakkum Stalin' programme, set to be launched on August 2, would offer a range of services to those who visit the camps to be organised under this initiative, Tamil Nadu government's spokesperson J. Radhakrishnan said in Chennai on Friday. Addressing reporters in the Secretariat campus in Chennai, Mr. Radhakrishnan said that multiple departments, including Social Welfare and Women Empowerment, Labour Welfare and Skill Development, Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Departments, among others, would be involved in these camps. He said that samples taken from beneficiaries would be identified using bar coding and the results would be made available by end of day. A State-level monitoring committee headed by the Chief Secretary would review the programme, while Collectors would review their implementation at the district level. The details of the attendees and their test results, if any, would be fed into the Health Management Information System that would help hospitals to access, he said. The functioning of the camps organised under the 'Nalam Kakkum Stalin' programme would be reviewed on a weekly and monthly basis, he said. Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department P. Senthil Kumar, Secretary of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department G. Laxmi Priya, Secretary of Labour Welfare and Skill Development K. Veera Raghava Rao and Mission Director of the National Health Mission Arun Thamburaj were also present.
Hindustan Times
26-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Agitating ASHA workers in Kerala welcome Centre's incentive hike
Thiruvananthapuram, The ASHA workers in Kerala, who have been agitating for the last several months against the state government, demanding a hike and post-retirement benefits, on Saturday welcomed the Centre's reported decision to increase their fixed monthly incentive. Agitating ASHA workers in Kerala welcome Centre's incentive hike They said the union government's decision would be beneficial for over 10 lakh ASHA workers in the country. There are media reports that the Centre approved a proposal to hike the fixed monthly incentive of ASHAs from ₹2,000 to ₹3,500 during the recent 9th meeting of the Mission Steering Group . The media also reported that the retirement benefits of the ASHA workers would be increased by the Centre, too. S Mini, state vice president of the Kerala ASHA Health Workers Association whose members are carrying out the indefinite agitation in front of the Secretariat here, said they had already carried out two Parliament marches raising the same demand. "We welcome the union government's decision to increase the fixed monthly incentive. The incentive had been the same so far since the scheme was launched 18 years ago. We have been demanding the Centre to increase this," she told reporters here. She said the Members of the Parliament from the state visited them when they began the agitation in front of the Secretariat on Feb 10 and assured them to take up the matter with the union government. The present decisions were a continuation of the assurance given by the MPs, she said. The leader said the fixed monthly incentive of the ASHA workers was now raised from ₹2,000 to ₹3,500 and the retirement benefit was increased from ₹20,000 to 50,000 by the Centre. "But, we will end our ongoing agitation only when the state government increases the honorarium as demanded by us," Mini said, adding that the state authorities could enhance it easily. A section of Accredited Social Health Activist workers have been protesting outside the secretariat since February 10, demanding a hike in their honorarium from ₹7,000 to ₹21,000 and a post-retirement benefit of five lakh rupees. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
