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Uttarakhand

Prime Minister to lay foundation of AIIMS, launch other projects in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani

by Vaishali Sharma December 30, 2021

written by Vaishali Sharma

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, and announce numerous other projects costing over Rs 17,500 crore.

After the one at Rishikesh, which opened in 2012, this will be the second AIIMS in the hill state.

“Devbhoomi Uttarakhand will move towards touching new heights of progress tomorrow. In Haldwani, I will have the opportunity to lay foundation stones and inaugurate 23 projects worth over ₹17,500 crore. These include infrastructure projects related to health, roads and irrigation,” PM Modi tweeted on Wednesday.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he was grateful to PM Modi for accepting his request for opening an AIIMS for people of the Kumaon region, for whom going all the way to AIIMS, Rishikesh, for treatment is difficult.

Apart from laying the foundation stone for AIIMS Haldwani, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over ₹17,500 crore.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), these projects cover a wide array of sectors across Uttarakhand including irrigation, road, housing, health infrastructure, industry, sanitation, drinking water supply among others.

These 23 projects include laying the foundation stone of AIIMS Rishikesh satellite centre in Udham Singh Nagar district and Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh.

“These two hospitals are being built at a cost of about ₹500 crores and ₹450 crore respectively. The improved medical infrastructure will not only help the people of Kumaon and Terai regions but also the bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh,” the PMO statement read.

Thursday’s inauguration events come months ahead of the high stakes assembly elections in Uttarakhand. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won the elections last time in 2017, is aiming for a second consecutive win.

The other top contenders in this year’s elections are the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Given the threat posed by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Election Commission and sought its response over the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking postponement of the assembly elections in the state. The high court was hearing the PIL regarding the matter on Wednesday.

December 30, 2021 0 comment

Uttarakhand

After black fungus, Aspergillus fungus reported in Covid-19 patients in Uttarakhand

by Vaishali Sharma June 8, 2021

written by Vaishali Sharma

Amid the rising cases of mucormycosis or black fungus infection in Covid-19 patients, at least 11 cases of another fungal infection named aspergillus have been detected in Dehradun, officials said.

The cases of the fungal infection, which largely affects the lungs, have been detected in at least 10 Covid-19 patients admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Experts said that the fungus becomes invasive in those with a weak immune system caused by Covid-19 infection. The experts, however, have found no relation between the fungus and Covid-19 infection so far.

Covid-19 nodal officer and pulmonologist at Government Doon Hospital in Dehradun, Dr Anurag Agrawal said that it is not a new fungus and is known to the medical world for the last 30-40 years.

“People who are old patients of tuberculosis (TB) or are suffering from Asthma are more susceptible to this fungus. In the case of TB, sometimes there is a cavity in the lungs of the patients in which this fungus starts developing in the form of a ball. Similarly, for those suffering from Asthma, this fungus causes allergy,” said Dr Agrawal, adding that “about 15 days ago, a patient with the fungal infection had come to him in at Government Doon Hospital.”

He informed that Aspergillus fungus becomes invasive in the lungs when the immune system of a person is weak.

“Amid this Covid-19 pandemic, this fungus is becoming invasive because of certain factors like a prolonged stay in the ICU, high dosage of steroids or immuno-suppressants which lower the immunity. In a serious condition, it causes a disease named Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA) which is treated with a drug named Voriconazole,” said Dr Agrawal.

Informing on its mortality rate, he said that if not treated on time, the fungus can cause death as it has a mortality rate of about 20%. “It majorly affects the lungs,” he said.

June 8, 2021 0 comment

IMA News Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand IMA raises questions on Ramdev’s therapy ‘Coronil’

by Vaishali Sharma June 5, 2021

written by Vaishali Sharma

The Uttarakhand unit of the Indian Medical Association has opposed the inclusion of Patanjali Ayurved’s Coronil in the Covid-19 kit of the Uttarakhand government. The doctors’ body said Coronil is not approved by the World Health Organization; it does not either have any approval from the Drug Controller General of India of Ayush as a medicine. “Coronil is however recognised as a food supplement by Ayush Vibhag of central government and is not a drug or medicine as claimed by Baba Ramdev on National TV on hourly basis advertisements” Dr Ajay Khanna, state secretary of IMA Uttarkhand wrote to the chief secretary of the state.

This “retaliation” comes at a time the association is at loggerheads with Ramdev over the yoga guru’s disparaging comments on modern medicine. The controversy has been going on and the IMA filed complaints against Ramdev and sent a legal notice to Patanjali Ayurved.

Amid this ongoing tussle, it has been reported that Patanjali has proposed to add Coronil as part of Covid-19 kit in Uttarakhand. This is medically wrong, the IMA said as this will result in a mixing of allopathy and Ayurved, the IMA said.

“Addition of Coronil with allopathic drugs shall amount to mixopathy that is a cocktail of Allopath and Ayurved which is not permitted as per the rulings of the honourable Supreme Court. Apart from the Apex Court, several high courts of various states have also ruled that mixopathy is not allowed,” the IMA said.

June 5, 2021 0 comment