Minister for Panchayat and Social Welfare M. K. Muneer inaugurated a drug bank of the Kudumbasree here on Friday.
The drug bank is a first of its kind initiative of the Community Development Society of the Kudumbasree Mission under the Kozhikode Corporation.
The objective of the bank is to ensure free medicines and other necessary medical equipment for needy patients on production of a doctor’s prescription as well as approval letters from the respective ward councillors and the representatives of the Area Development Society (ADS).
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Speaking on the occasion Dr. Muneer hailed the initiative as an ‘essential and ambitious project’ a time when the prices of the medicine including life-saving drugs were skyrocketing despite different initiatives from the government to control it.
The Minister, who promised to give all support to the project by channelizing potential social welfare funds to it, however urged the Kudumbasree members and the Corporation authorities to be careful to avoid duplication while selecting the deserving people for the drug bank’s benefits.
“Effective measures should be taken to see that the benefits of the drug bank do not go to the same person, who had received the same help through other social welfare schemes of the government,” he said. Explaining the project, CDS member secretary M.V. Razi Ismail said that the drug bank, functioning at the old Corporation building at the beach would be functioning purely by financial assistance from philanthropists as well as charitable persons and organisations. “We are planning to run it completely with people’s participation using no share from the plan fund or a paise from the fund allocated to different activities of Kudumbasree,” said Mr. Ismail. According to him, the bank has already received different medical equipment including wheel chairs and water-beds besides medicines from different charitable organisations and patients to be distributed to deserving persons.
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They were formally handed over to the bank during the inaugural ceremony on Friday. Corporation Mayor A.K. Premajam presided over the function. Corporation Welfare Standing Committee chairman M. Radhakrishnan welcomed the gathering. A. Pradeepkumar, MLA, Deputy Mayor, P.T. Abdul Latheef, and chairpersons of different standing committees of the Corporation were present on the occasion.