Manipur: Flying Doctor scheme mooted

Imphal: Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla said that she had informed the prime minister of the ‘flying doctor’ plan mooted by her, which she said would be help to the people of the hill areas of the state and its neighbours. Heptulla, who is away in Delhi, told PTI over phone that she had tied the rakhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the day and informed him of the plan.

“The scheme is one of its kind and will be very useful for other hill areas in the NE region as the neighbouring states in the area share similar topographical features,” the governor said adding she had requested the prime minister to inaugurate it after the completion of the official and mandatory requirements.

Heptulla had told a function at Imphal last week that the North Eastern Council has allocated Rs 25 crore for the flying doctor scheme and that various districts, both in the hills and valley would be covered through choppers equipped with medical necessities.

Manipur was recently hit by the worst flood in 20 years and had been plagued by vector-borne diseases like Japanese encephalitis and dengue both in the hill and valley areas where surface transport services are difficult due to landslides during the monsoons.