In a bid to boost the health scenario in the tea garden areas, the Assam Government on September 24^th, 2019, made 142 essential drugs free for the people of the tea garden areas. “A sum of Rs 20 crore will be spent for the purpose under the Free Drugs Scheme,” state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in the inaugural function of the scheme. The scheme will cover 651 tea gardens of the state.

“A total of 142 different essential drugs would be supplied to the hospitals. WHO-GMP certified drugs will be supplied directly from more than 100 drug manufacturers to supply to 651 tea garden hospitals of the state,” the minister added.

Besides, reiterating the Bharatiya Janata Party’s commitment to work for all round development of the state, Sarma said, “This is yet another historic step to ensure efficient healthcare is provided to people living in Tea Gardens.”

He further claimed improvement in the health scenario in the tea garden areas during the BJP’s rule in the state. “We provided medical units for 400 hospitals, which were in pathetic condition, in the tea garden areas. The state government allocated 600 crore for construction of the roads in the gardens. Around 19000 pregnant women were benefited with Rs 12,000,” he added.

Speaking on the heinous Deben Dutta killing case in Teok Tea Estate, Sarma said, “We cannot blame a community as a whole for some people’s wrong act. It would be unfair to blame the tea tribe for the Teok incident or the Karbi community for a particular incident in Dokmoka incident.” He further said development in all sectors is the only solution to any heinous incident.

Photo credit: @himantabiswa