Aster RV Hospital launches free Mobile Medical Services in Karnataka
Bengaluru: In collaboration with Ashok Leyland and Trinity Care Foundation, Aster Volunteers Ashok Leyland Mobile Medical Services was launched by Aster RV Hospital today. Under this initiative, two mobile medical clinics are being introduced that will aim to provide quality healthcare services to people in need and those living in remote areas of Karnataka where medical facilities are inadequate or inaccessible. The initiative will also support the driver community who do not always have proper access to care, ASHA & health workers, Anganwadi teachers, and orphanages among others. The chief guest present at the event was the Honourable Medical Education Minister of Karnataka, K. Sudhakar along with Dr. Prashanth N, COO, Aster RV Hospital.
Under the Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical services, these are the 12th and 13th vehicles to be launched globally and the first in Karnataka. The vehicles will cover North and South of Karnataka, the North vehicle will also cater to the Kolhapur region of Maharashtra. By bringing free of cost primary screening services such as BMI, blood sugar testing, BP and general health check up to these communities, this program aims to check non-communicable diseases at an early stage and raise awareness on the importance of early detection and preventive screening.
The Aster Volunteers Ashok Leyland Mobile Medical Service vehicles will be accompanied by experienced doctors, nurses and a driver who will conduct regular medical camps in their respective regions on an ongoing basis with the support of Trinity Care Foundation.
Commenting on the occasion Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare said, “One of the missions of Aster Volunteers is to reach the doorsteps of people in need of medical services and who do not have access to it. The Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical Services shall try to bring accessibility to quality healthcare for the marginalised population based in remote locations and Karnataka is the fifth State in India that we have introduced this humanitarian service as part of our CSR initiatives in India. Aster Volunteers, with nearly 30,000 committed volunteers is operating in 8 countries and have touched the lives of nearly 2 million+ people so far. We are thankful to our strategic partners Ashok Leyland and Trinity Care Foundation for joining hands with us in this noble project. We also place on record appreciation for the support extended by the Honourable Medical Education Minister of Karnataka, K Sudhakar.”
N V Balachander, President – HR, Corporate Communications and CSR, Ashok Leyland Limited commenting on the occasion said, “At a time when the entire country and the world is going through a crisis, there can be no better time for Ashok Leyland to launch the Mobile Medical Unit partnering ASTER Group. At Ashok Leyland we believe that Education and Health play a vital role in development of community and therefore the initiative of Mobile Medical Unit is a step forward towards providing accessible and affordable health care to the under-resourced communities and we are pleased to be the partners in this initiative. Congratulations to the teams from ASTER and Ashok Leyland for making the collaboration possible and look forward to great success.”
Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are observed to be on a rise in rural communities and are contributing majorly to the mortality rate, which can be curtailed by creating awareness on the importance of health check-ups. As a part of the inaugural phase health camps will be conducted in Chikkaballapur where people can access this free medical service. Every week two camps will be conducted in different parts of rural Karnataka. Strict measures such as the use of PPE kits by the staff and regular sanitisation of the mobile medical vehicle will be conducted to tackle the Covid-19 menace.
Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical Services was launched in 2012 as a part of the group’s commitment to give back to the community to provide quality healthcare services to people living in areas where medical facilities are inadequate or inaccessible. Currently, the 11 Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical Services have their footprints in the places like Delhi, Orissa, Jharkhand and Kerala in India, along with UAE, Oman and Ethiopia. So far, these services have benefitted more than 519,638 people globally.
About Aster Volunteers, the global CSR programme of Aster DM Healthcare
Aster Volunteers programme, the global corporate social responsibility initiative of Aster DM Healthcare, was launched on occasion of the company's 30th anniversary in 2017 and provides a platform which bridges the gap between people who would like to help with those in need. Driven by Aster DM Foundation, through various initiatives, the programme has been able to impact 2 million+ lives across geographies. Aster Volunteers have been able to treat 290,986 individuals through mobile medical camps; 169,207 people have benefitted from basic life support trainings and 36,019 free surgeries as well as health investigations were conducted; supported with the recruitment of 114 differently abled people and treated 533,146 people through 3,376 medical camps. The aid programme in Somali land, Jordan, Bangladesh and Kerala has benefitted 288,158 people; while 21,302 children have benefitted under Child Health & Wellness initiatives. In the wake of the COVID – 19 pandemic, 816,648 lives have been impacted through screening camps and distribution of food and medical kits. Aster Volunteers have also undertaken 142 initiatives towards Sustainability & Community Connect.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
EC dismisses scope for wrongdoing at strongrooms; prohibitory orders around Kolkata counting centres
Kolkata (PTI): A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spent hours at the EVM strongroom of her Bhabanipur constituency alleging possibilities of malpractices, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Friday asserted there is no scope for wrongdoing at the counting centres.
Following tensions around two counting centres in Kolkata late on Thursday, police clamped prohibitory orders on gatherings outside all seven strongrooms in the city.
Stating that round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of strongrooms was in place, Agarwal dismissed the allegations as "baseless".
TMC spokesperson and Beleghata constituency candidate Kunal Ghosh said that party workers and poll aspirants were keeping a strict vigil at the counting centres, where the EVMs are stored in strongrooms, upon directions of party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
"There is no scope for any wrongdoing given the arrangements made to secure the EVMs. The Centres have been kept under thorough CCTV coverage and their live-streamed footage can be seen from outside," Agarwal told reporters.
"One should have reason and evidence for making allegations," he said, maintaining that there were no grounds for levelling charges of EVM tampering or pre-counting malpractice.
Two counting centres in Kolkata witnessed high drama late on Thursday evening after TMC leaders alleged a lack of transparency and possible malpractice at the strongrooms housing sealed EVMs of the assembly polls, which concluded on April 29.
Mamata Banerjee herself landed up at the Sakhawat Memorial School counting centre and stayed put there for about four hours. She emerged from the premises past midnight and warned against any attempts to tamper with the counting process, demanding greater transparency.
TMC leaders and candidates Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh held a sit-in outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra counting centre on Thursday evening, alleging unauthorised activities inside the strongroom amid the absence of TMC agents.
Matters came to a head after a large number of supporters from both TMC and BJP camps gathered outside the venue, shouting slogans till they were dispersed by security forces.
The EC, however, dismissed the claim, clarifying that poll officials were engaged in the task of segregating postal ballots as per due process and the strongrooms remained secure, asserting all political parties for the mandatory segregation activity were duly notified.
On Friday, Kolkata Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS around all seven designated strong rooms in the city.
As per the order issued by Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, the restrictions prohibited the assembly of five or more persons within a 200-metre radius of each strongroom, along with a ban on processions, demonstrations, and carrying of weapons or explosive materials.
The measure, which aims to prevent any breach of peace, violence, or disturbance during the storage of ballot papers and polled EVMs, will remain in force until the commencement of counting on May 4.
Besides the two counting centres in question, the prohibitory orders were also clamped around the Hastings House complex, APC Polytechnic College, St. Thomas Boys' High School, Ballygunge Government High School and the David Hare Training College counting premises.
A senior police officer said enhanced security arrangements have been made at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the counting centre for several assembly seats in north and east Kolkata housing EVM strong rooms.
"Additional CAPFs and armed police forces have also been deployed under the supervision of an additional commissioner and a deputy commissioner of police," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Kolkata, Rupesh Kumar, told reporters after visiting the area.
Expressing apprehension that unauthorised movements might occur when a section of postal ballots is brought in the evening, Kunal Ghosh said on Friday morning that the party's polling agents and candidates have been alerted about the matter.
Minister Shashi Panja, who also arrived at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in the morning, maintained that "transparency" should be ensured for all strongroom activities.
Ghosh told reporters on Friday that though they had seen some movement in a strongroom that allegedly stored postal ballots, there was no such movement on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Banerjee's challenger at Bhabanipur and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took a dig at the chief minister for her late-night visit to the counting centre.
"I want to reassure the people of Bhabanipur and of West Bengal that the TMC candidate and outgoing chief minister was prevented from taking any additional advantage. Despite her best intentions to the contrary, she wasn't allowed to act in violation of rules," Adhikari wrote on social media platforms, posting a picture of Banerjee sitting at what appeared to be an area outside the counting centre strong room.
"Till such time she was present there, my election agent, advocate Surjyanil Das personally positioned himself at the spot keeping a tight watch on her so that she isn't able to take recourse to improper means," he added.
Security forces kept a strict vigil in and around counting centres and strongrooms in Kolkata and other districts where EVM machines used in the state assembly elections are stored, an official said.
Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata's Bhabanipur, which saw high drama till the early hours of Friday with the chief minister spending several hours at the counting centre, wore a peaceful look in the morning with security personnel guarding the area.
