MATHURA, SEPT 18: As part of its special drive to improve health facilities in India's five `BIMARU' states that are home to outbreaks of several epidemics, Government has initiated a novel strategy of organising `Health Melas' to take medicare to doorsteps of the people.Dotted with numerous stalls, the first such `mela' organised at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday witnessed experts from Delhi's leading hospitals rub shoulders with local municipal officials and doctors to offer cheap medicare for tuberculosis, malaria, `kala azar' and polio. It was inaugurated by Health and Family Welfare Minister C P Thakur.Thakur said that from Mathura, the `mela' would move to Lucknow, Ghazipur, Patna, Guwahati, Bhopal, Jaipur and finally to Delhi as part of the efforts to reach out to the people, particularly at block and village level in the backward areas.A special task force has also been constituted for the `BIMARU' states - Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa - to go into their specific problems. These states not only account for 40 per cent of the country's galloping population rate but also have poor health indices.The new initiative is part of the government's effort to provide better health care to people as announced by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the Independence Day.Numerous medical experts from reputed hospitals in Delhi like AIIMS, Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and others joined local doctors in the health `mela' to provide better health facilities to the visitors.Thakur said efforts would be made to provide free medicines for malaria, TB and other diseases to help poor people in the `BIMARU' states.Such `melas' invite participation from village panchayats, municipal corporations and other elected representatives as part of attempts to fight medical problems on war footing, he said.Thakur stressed that frequent interactions between ministries of health, education and rural development are necessary in implementation of different social welfare and health schemes. "Health problems cannot be seen in isolation. Poor health is caused by prevalence of illiteracy and habitation problems. By combining the three together only we can achieve a better result," he added.Explaining the reasons for starting the new health drive from Uttar Pradesh, Thakur said, "More than half of the country's health problem rests in these `BIMARU' states and among them, Uttar Pradesh has a dubious distinction of heading the table."Health Secretary Javed Choudhary, Family Welfare Secretary A R Nanda, AIIMS director P K Dave and a battery of medical experts attended the `mela'.Thousands of people visited the `mela'. Seeing the popularity of it, Thakur extended the `mela' by one day making it a four-day affair.
