20,000 throng free medical camp

BEGUSARAI: Fifty persons were diagnosed to be suffering from cancer and 600 from tuberculosis at a three-day free health camp organised here.
The "Virat Swasthaya Mela", in which 20,000 persons turned up for check-up and treatment, opened here on Sunday and concluded on Tuesday. No HIV-positive case was detected at the camp.
The camp was organised by the district board chairman with the cooperation of the district unit of IMA and various voluntary organisations to mark the first anniversary of the district board.
While around 100 clinics were set up to examine patients, 15 counters were established to register patients on the sprawling local BP School campus and grounds beside the sadar hospital, district board chief Ratan Singh told mediapersons.
According to him, around 200 doctors, including about one-and-a -half dozen from Patna, examined the patients, a good number of whom turned up from the distant rural areas of the district.
The doctors who came here from Patna to take part part in the health camp included Dr Narendra Prasad, Dr K K Singh, Dr Mathura Prasad, heart specialist Dr Amit Thakur, Dr P Gupta and Dr Satyajit Kumar, said district IMA secretary Dr Ratan Prasad.
According to Dr Ratan Prasad, more than 300 patients were operated free. Medicines were also provided free of charge during the mela period. He further said that around 4,000 patients out of the 20,000 examined at the camp were females.
Dr Ratan Prasad stated that the patients diagnosed to be suffering from cancer, have been referred to Mahavir Cancer Institute, Patna and arrangements will be made to provide them there free treatment.
District board chief Ratan Singh said that local surgeons have been requested to provide free operation facility in their private clinics to those 200 patients who were examined but could not be operated upon during the mela period on account of heavy rush of patients.
He claimed that medicines worth over Rs 10 lakh was distributed among the patients from the counter set up at the mela venue. He admitted some lapses in management but attributed it to overwhelming rush.
Meanwhile, the CPI MLA from Matihani, Rajendra Rajan has alleged that the patients were reduced to the status of beggars.
Local BJP MLA Bhola Singh, who is reported to have contributed Rs 2 lakh for medicines, could not be contacted for his comments.