Members of fisheries cooperatives in Chhattisgarh can now consult doctors from AIIMS, Raipur, for their medical needs.

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying Parshottam Rupala launched a pilot project for the telemedicine service, which will be operated by AIIMS, Raipur, through the National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC), under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) programme.

Members of fisheries cooperatives in Chhattisgarh can contact the health specialists from their remote locations, said Rupala, after handing over a cheque for the ₹50-lakh project to Nitin M Nagarkar, Director and CEO, AIIMS, Raipur, to kick-start the telemedicine pilot project.

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Proposed as a start-up activity by AIIMS, Raipur, for the next three years, the pilot project is being launched in five centres — the primary health centre (PHC) at Patan (Durg district), PHC Saja (Bemetara), PHC Ratanpur (Bilaspur), PHC Dhamtari (Chamtari) and AIIMS, Raipur.

“In a pandemic-affected world, technology-enabled services, including tele-health, have become more relevant than ever. Given this, I am happy to inaugurate the telemedicine facility, which will help bring access to quality medical consultation services to the people related with fisheries and fisheries cooperatives. Later on, more districts will be covered under the project,” the Minister added.

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The decision to launch the telemedicine facility was taken after many cooperative members were found to be shying away from seeking medical services either because they lived in remote areas or due to poverty and from fear of Covid infection.

“The idea is to extend healthcare facilities to members of fisheries cooperatives in remote areas as well as cut down their medical expenditure. The penetration of quality healthcare services in remote areas will also create health awareness among the fisheries community,” Sundeep Nayak, MD, NCDC said.