PURI: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the distribution of smart health cards to beneficiaries of Puri district under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana at Brahmagiri on Thursday, October 7, 2021. The CM, in a pre-recorded video speech, said around 3.5 crore people belonging to economically-weaker section in the State will benefit from the initiative. In Puri alone, 3.64 lakh families will be benefitted. A person can simply go to a hospital only with the card and avail all the treatments without any hassle. Beneficiaries can avail services from 200 top hospitals of the country with help of the cards, he said.
While families can avail treatment costs up to Rs 5 lakh per annum, for women, it is up to Rs 10 lakh. “Odisha is the first State to introduce smart cards to help people in need of advanced healthcare. These cards would remove the hospitalisation burden on people as the government would now bear the treatment cost. Every life is precious to me,” he said.
Distribution of smart cards in Puri will continue till November. On the day, Naveen inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 123 projects worth Rs 1,004 crore in the district. The inaugurated projects included several bridges under Biju Setu Yojana, two power grids at Brahmagiri, tourism projects at Chilika, Puri and Konark, piped water projects and infrastructure for Mission Shakti. On the occasion, the CM also flagged off a BSKY Rath to spread awareness among the people about the benefits of the smart health cards.
Puri MP Pinaki Mishra said under the able leadership of the CM, Odisha has set examples for other states in the country. From introducing smart health cards to sponsoring Indian hockey, the State has many firsts to its credit.
Among others, Ministers Naba Kishore Das, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Tusarkanti Behera and Samir Ranjan Dash besides 5T Secretary VK Pandian and former Brahmagiri MLA Sanjay Dasburma were present.
Puri Collector Samarth Verma and SP K Vishal Singh had made elaborate security arrangements for the event which was organised in strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols.