Panchayats must identify TB patients, counsel them on regular treatment: CM

Panaji: A day after chief minister Pramod Sawant announced his govt’s target of a tuberculosis-free Goa, he said on Saturday that panchayats should identify TB patients within their jurisdictions and ensure that they take regular medical treatment.
He urged panchayat members and swayampurna mitras to start telephonic counselling with TB patients to make sure they take their regular medicines. “Get their names from health centres and provide them with counselling,” he said.
Sawant said that it’s not difficult to make Goa TB-free. “We have to make sure that they maintain a proper diet. TB patients who are alcoholic should stop drinking and smoking. Patients who follow this can fully be cured within six to nine months,” he said.
As the monsoon hit the state early this year, Sawant said that panchayats should barricade and put up signboards to stop people from visiting waterfalls during the rains, to avoid any untoward incidents.
He also urged public representatives to take precautions and visit construction sites to avoid the spread of vector-borne diseases. During an interaction with swayampurna mitras on disaster management, Sawant said that panchas and sarpanches should ensure that, in coordination with the panchayat, “they clean the roadside to avoid water logging on roads”. “This will not damage the roads, and will reduce accidents,” he said.
The CM also said that a public awareness campaign should be launched against vector-borne diseases like malaria. “We have to educate people to keep their surroundings clean and maintain cleanliness in villages. Only if we educate people will they keep their surroundings clean,” he said.
Sawant said that authorities should be active in flood-prone areas, and that everyone should work to provide quick service to the public in emergency situations. “We have to take all precautions to avoid any disaster during the monsoon,” he said.
He mentioned that in Goa, there are 150 amrit sarovars (ponds). “We have to check whether those these are rejuvenated or not. We have to clean them well before the monsoon,” said Sawant.
The chief minister also said that a mock drill was conducted to check preparedness in disaster situations. Sawant said that Goa was declared a fully literate state, and it could not have happened without the work of panchayats and swayampurna mitras.