NaMo free dialysis centre, 100th Janaushadhi Kendra launched

Bengaluru: Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday launched 'NaMo Free Dialysis Centre' and 100th Janaushadhi Kendra in Bengaluru South. On the occasion of '5th Jan AushadhiDiwas', the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare also inaugurated 'NaMo Day Care Centre' and flagged off four NaMo Mobile Healthcare Units, in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. They were launched at the KSRTC Hospital at Jayanagar here.

Addressing the gathering after the inaugural, Mandaviya said that the first priority of the government is to provide cheap and better quality medicines to all citizens, and keeping this in mind, Jan AushadhiKendras have been opened across the country. At these kendras, every citizen, whether poor or rich, can buy medicines at very cheap prices, he said.

Further noting that NGOs and many others have joined the journey of Jan Aushadhi and today more than 9,000 Jan AushadhiKendras are in existence, the Union Minister urged the youth to become 'Jan Aushadhi Mitra' to publicise the benefits of Jan AushadhiKendras for betterment of the people. He also informed that opening a Jan Aushadhi Kendra is very easy and anyone who opens it gets 20 per cent commission.

The dialysis centre, named after the Prime Minister, is meant to provide free hemodialysis treatment for the poor and marginalised sections, and the dialysis machines for the facility were procured under the MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, with corporate sponsors donating a few more machines to the hospital, the MP's office said in a release.

Completely remodelled on the lines of a top corporate private hospital, the dialysis treatment provided at the Centre will be free, it said. The facility will lead to savings from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 per session for the weaker sections and is aimed at making treatments more accessible and affordable for them.

Noting that the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya JanaushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP), under which Jan AushadhiKendras are set up, provide generic medicines at 70-90 per cent reduced cost, the release further said, from just 14 Janaushadhi stores in 2019, the number of these generic medicine stores have risen to 100, catering to over 1,80,719 beneficiaries in Bengaluru. Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, Transport Minister B Sriramulu were present at the event.