Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, on Thursday, said greater stress must be laid on proper management of these old age homes and orphanages so that the inmates do not face any inconvenience.
Addressing a meeting of the HP Child Welfare Council (HP CWC), Thakur said being the ‘Dev Bhoomi’ people of the state generally have a humane attitude and minimum cases were being reported of abandoning of parents and old people by families. However, there is a sizable number of old people in the old-age homes run by the department, hence better management of these is vital.
He called for efforts to motivate the corporate sector to contribute to the smooth functioning of the council by way of as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and towards the projects being executed by the council. In addition, efforts should also be made to motivate the people to enroll themselves as life members of the council so that active participation of the general public could be ensured.
The chief minister suggested that the membership for life members of the Parishad be enhanced from the existing Rs 5,000 to Rs 11,000.
He said the council should also motivate the general public and philanthropists to come forward to contribute to the proper management of these old-age homes. The corporate houses must also be motivated to come forward to take up projects for the welfare of this underprivileged section of society.
The Social Welfare Department is one of the departments with great scope for helping the suffering humanity and the state government would provide all possible help to the organisations running such homes, the CM said.
Later, Thakur virtually inaugurated CT Scan Machine at Dr Radhakrishanan Government Medical College (RKGMC), Hamirpur set up at a cost of Rs 1.24 crore by Boeing India Company under CSR and Doctor for You’ project.
He said with the setting up of this machine, a long pending demand of the people of the region has been fulfilled. The construction work of the Medical College has been expedited by the present state government and during his last visit to Hamirpur, he had visited the site and directed the authorities concerned to speed up the construction work of this ambitious project so that a few blocks could be dedicated to the people by the end of July, he stated.
Thakur further stated that the state government was committed to strengthening the health infrastructure in the state.
As many as 48 PSA oxygen plants had been established in the state with a total capacity of 59 metric tonnes. 1,014 ventilators have also been provided in the health institutions and an 800 LPM capacity PSA oxygen plant has been established in Dr. Radhakrishanan Government Medical College, Hamirpur to facilitate the people of the area.
Besides, Rs 322 crore is being spent on the construction of a new complex of the Medical College at Jol Sapper, he added.

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