Siddaramaiah launches 'Gruha Arogya' initiative
Bengaluru, Oct 24: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the "Gruha Arogya": "Healthcare at Your Doorstep" initiative here, aimed at providing free health check-ups and treatment to citizens at their homes.
This scheme, a flagship program of the Department of Health and Family Welfare for the control and management of non-communicable diseases seeks to reach underprivileged sections and ensure timely detection of diseases, officials said.
The program has been launched for Kolar district initially and subsequently the scheme shall be scaled up to include all districts after two months, officials said.
According to the Health Department, a total budget of Rs 92.75 crore has been earmarked for this program by Karnataka government.
The burden of non-communicable diseases in India is significant and is on the rise leading to significant mortality and morbidity.
Approximately 63 per cent of all deaths in India are due to non-communicable diseases.
"Gruha Arogya" scheme has been launched in Karnataka as a preventive measure to reduce incidence of complications and premature mortality due to non-communicable diseases.
Sharing his personal experience, the Chief Minister said, "I have been managing diabetes for the past 30 years with regular exercise and a disciplined lifestyle. It is possible to control the condition with proper care."
He also noted that it had been 24 years since he underwent a stent procedure, and he continues to actively engage in party and government activities while following medical advice.
Underscoring the importance of early diagnosis, he said, "Health issues should not be concealed."
"Many people, especially from economically weaker sections, cannot afford to visit hospitals. This initiative will ensure health services reach their doorstep."
He observed that several people avoid health screenings due to financial constraints, leading to undetected diseases.
"Our aim is to ensure every household is covered through these door-to-door health check-ups. Early detection of conditions like cancer improves treatment outcomes, while diseases such as diabetes and hypertension can be effectively managed with lifestyle changes," the CM said.
Addressing the misconceptions about diet and diabetes, he said, "there is a myth that consuming eggs, fish, or meat worsens diabetes. Balanced nutrition is key, and eliminating certain foods is not the solution."
He said that stress and increased consumption of chemically-treated food have contributed to rising health issues.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao said that this is a visionary project and will play an important role in saving the lives of people in rural areas.
Stating that 26.9 per cent of the people in the state are suffering from high blood pressure and 15.6 per cent are suffering from diabetes, he said that the main aim of the scheme is to prevent death and health complications caused by it.
"Also 11.5 per cent people are suffering from oral cancer in the state; 26 per cent of people are suffering from breast cancer and 18.3 per cent are cases of cervical cancer...The scheme is not just about checking people's blood pressure, diabetes and supplying medicine... In the long run, people can be protected from life-threatening diseases like kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes caused by these non-communicable diseases," he said.
According to health department, As part of the scheme, teams comprising Community Health Officers, Primary Health Care Officers, Health Inspecting Officers, ASHAs shall carry out door to door visits in their Ayushman Arogya Mandir area for screening of major non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension and three common cancers namely oral cancer, breast and cervical cancer (aimed at women) for individuals aged 30 years of age and above.
Screening shall be done on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until all houses are covered. Apart from this screening for signs and symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Mental Health Conditions will also be done. Counseling on lifestyle modification measures to prevent and control non-communicable diseases will be given to all individuals by the teams, it stated.
"Individuals who are suffering from Diabetes and Hypertension shall be provided requisite medicines free of cost during the screening visits. Additionally, provision will be made to provide medicines for treatment of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) for senior citizens, specially abled patients and patients who are on palliative care on a regular basis," the health department said in a statement.
Monthly camps will be conducted at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs on fixed days where follow up of identified patients suffering from NCDs will be conducted by a Medical Officer, it stated.
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Indigo cancels 67 flights from multiple airports due to bad weather, operational issues
Mumbai (PTI): Domestic carrier IndiGo on Thursday cancelled 67 flights from multiple airports due to "forecasted" bad weather and operational reasons, according to the airline's website.
Of the 67 cancelled flights, only four were for operational reasons, and the rest were due to "forecasted" bad weather at various airports, including Agartala, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Varanasi, Bengaluru, among others, as per the website.
Aviation regulator, DGCA, has announced the period between December 10 and February 10 next year as the official fog window this winter.
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As part of the DGCA fog operations (CAT-IIIB) norms, airlines have to mandatorily roster pilots who are trained to operate in low-visibility conditions, as well as deploy a CAT-IIIB-compliant aircraft fleet for such operations.
Category-III is an advanced navigation system that empowers an aircraft to land under foggy conditions.
Category-III-A is a precision instrument approach and landing that enables a plane to land with a runway visual range (RVR) of 200 metres, while Category-III-B helps in landing with an RVR of under 50 metres.
IndiGo, whose operations are under DGCA monitoring after the cancellations of thousands of flights early this month, is already operating a curtailed schedule in compliance with the government's order.
Under its original winter flight schedule, the airline was permitted to operate 15,014 domestic flights per week, or about 2,144 flights per day, roughly six per cent higher than the 14,158 weekly flights it operated during the summer schedule of 2025.
However, after the massive disruptions, which saw the airline cancelling 1,600 flights on a single day on account of new rest norms for pilots, which allow more rest to the pilots, the government cut down the airline's domestic flight schedule by 10 per cent or 214 flights per day.
As a result of that, IndiGo can't operate more than 1,930 flights per day on domestic routes under its current winter schedule.
The Rahul Bhatia-controlled airline cancelled thousands of flights between December 1 and December 9 on account of a lack of proper planning, and crew shortage in implementing the new set of regulations for pilots' duty period and rest, which were put in place from November 1, thereby causing severe hardships to lakhs of air travellers.
Following this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) formed a four-member panel, comprising Joint DG Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, with a mandate to identify the root causes of widespread operational disruptions at the Rahul Bhatia-controlled domestic carrier.
The panel, which has already grilled IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras as part of its probe, is expected to submit its report by this week.
Meanwhile, IndiGo, in a travel advisory on X, said, "Low visibility and fog over Bangalore has impacted flight schedule. We are keeping a close watch on the weather and doing our best where you need to be safely, smoothly".
Reacting to the advisory, an aggrieved passenger, in an X post, said, "My flight on December 20 from Bhubaneswar to Ahmedabad got delayed for more than five hours, and today my return flight from Ahmedabad to Bhubaneswar also got delayed more than three hours with the same excuse as bad weather. I am travelling with my senior citizen parents, and this delay is not acceptable. Need proper explanation, along with compensation".
