CM keen on eliminating kalazar from Bihar - Thakur

Patna, Dec 21 (UNI) Former Union Health Minister C P Thakur today asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to include kalazar elimination programme in the Chief Minister's policies.

After his meeting with Mr Kumar, Dr Thakur told newspersons here Mr Kumar was keen on elimination of kalazar and had decided to convene a state level meeting in January to chalk out the future strategy for the purpose.

Dr Thakur said the meeting would be held under the chairmanship of Mr Kumar and attended by the central representatives of the Health department.

He said a policy was framed to eliminate it by 2010 during his tenure as Union Health Minister and a project of Rs 300 crore was sanctioned for the puopose.

The project fell prey to red tapism and the fund had been languishing, he said and added that he would exert pressure on the Centre through the Chief Minister to expedite the scheme.

Dr Thakur took a pledge to make a kalazar-free environment within a year, saying Mr Kumar had assured his full cooperation in the mission.

The Centre too had shown its interest in the scheme and the disease could be eliminated with strong willpower at the government level.

Dr Thakur alleged lack of commitment and willpower at the government level was a major obstacle in the elimination programme.

He referred to the special camp, organised three years back by him at Gonpura, the adjoining area of the state capital, where the disease was fully eliminated following treatment of 20 days and it did not relapse there.

Similar programmes could eliminate kalazar from the rest of Bihar accounting for 80 per cent of the total kalazar patients.

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