A total amount of Rs 1.40 crore has been disbursed among the beneficiaries in two years in Digboi under the Assam Arogya Nidhi (AAN) scheme and from MLA Area Development Fund (SUHRID), and partly from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Through the AAN scheme, financial assistance is provided for treatment of ailing members of the BPL families. On the other hand, students from BPL families have been provided financial assistance through the MLA Area Development Fund (SUHRID) so that they can get hurdle-free education.
Digboi MLA Suren Phukan, who distributed cheques for Rs 15000 to Rs 35,000 among the deserving 30 BPL beneficiaries recently at the Tingrai-based BJP office, said that the Government healthcare initiatives in the form of ANN have been adequately implemented in his constituency and financial support has been extended to the patients belonging to places like Digboi, Makum, Tingrai, etc. enabling them to treat ailments like cancer, AIDS, heart diseases, kidney and urinary diseases and others like orthopedic complications.
“BPL families from both urban and rural areas were earlier extensively communicated and urged through awareness drive to come forward and avail the benefits that the Government offers through several socio-economic, health and educational schemes,” said Phukan.
Janapriya Baruah, a vegetable vendor who runs his business in the roadside at Golai Bazaar in Digboi, Janapriya Baruah, the father of an ailing beneficiary, 22-year-old Avinash Baruah, heaving a shy of relief, said, “My pockets have already drained in treating my son who has been suffering from neurological disorder in a private nursing home at Dibrugarh since 2009,” adding, “When I heard about the Government scheme, I immediately applied around two months back.”
“The amount would definitely provide me a temporary relief in meeting a part of the medical expenses including the purchase of medicines,” added Baruah.