Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla announced on Sunday that the Civil Aviation Ministry had sanctioned ₹25 crore through the North-Eastern Council for a flying doctors’ service in the State.
Speaking at the prize distribution function of Japan Hospital Manipur, Ms. Heptulla said that she had been urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others to take up the project.
She said she first came to know of the flying doctors during her visits to Australia and other countries, where doctors and paramedical staff rush in well-stocked helicopters to treat patients who have no access to hospitals.
“Now all districts and villages in the valley and hills in Manipur shall be covered by the flying doctors,” she said.
Though Manipur Health Minister L. Jayentakumar has been trying to ensure that all hospitals and dispensaries in the remote areas are open round the clock, it has become difficult as the doctors and other staff face shortage of accommodation.
Some weeks back, doctors and paramedical staff who were going to join duty in the newly created Kamjong district were robbed of cash, mobile handsets and valuables.
There are reports of avoidable deaths and childbirths by the roadside as the people in the hills and remote villages are deprived of medicare. Ms. Heptulla said she was glad that flying doctors would be a reality soon.
