Daltonganj July 28: Palamu Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sameera S on Monday adopted two active TB patients under the food basket mission of the PM TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
The two active TB patients are of different genders and ages. Respecting the dignity and identity of the TB patients, the Jharkhand Story withholds the names of the individuals except their age, which is 38 for the male and 14 for the girl.
Each of the two food baskets is worth 875 rupees.
Sameera S Becomes First Palamu DC to Adopt TB Patients
Sameera S thus becomes the first Palamu DC to have adopted any TB patients. However, an SP here, Chandan Kumar Sinha, had adopted a little over half a dozen TB patients under the Ramgarh police station limits in Palamu for food baskets.
Sources said the DC Sameera S and her hubby both have adopted one each TB patients.
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Health Officials Laud DC’s Gesture
Lauding the humanitarian gesture of the DC Sameera S, Civil Surgeon Dr Anil Kumar Sriwastwa said “We are sanguine that now onwards more and more benevolent people who can afford to give food baskets for the TB patients will step forward to help these patients to win their battle against TB which is curable if medicines and food intake is proper and complete and in time.”
There are people like elected representatives, professionals, village heads, NGOs etc who can lend a big helping hand in the fight against the TB.
Dr Sriwastwa said, “Our DC Sameera S has shown the way. I wish more and more people join this noble job to give food baskets to the TB patients.”
Food baskets are an added nutritional value as they contain mustard oil, sattu, gram, peanut, molasses, pulse etc.
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TB Situation in Palamu and India
According to a Government of India data, there are 2 TB deaths every 5 minutes in the country.
TB doesn’t affect hair and nails otherwise it strikes lungs, bones, joints, meningitis, abdomen, kidney, urinary bladder etc.
There are 4,000 active TB patients in Palamu. However out of the 4000 TB patients only 319 are the recipients of the food basket, said Dr Sriwastwa.
A TB patient is free to decline this offer of the free food basket. It’s normally a 6-month package, one food basket per month, per TB patient.
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In charge TB officer Dr Rajender Kumar was present during the moment of giving away of the food basket as TB patients suffer on two counts, first they curse luck and two, a sense of alienation grips them.
The Civil Surgeon said, “We have many TB warriors and champions here who have defeated the TB in a great way. TB can be won. And it is won every day.”
