PM Modi presented pair of slippers to a tribal woman | Photo Credit: ANI

Bijapur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday was in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur to inaugurate first health care centre under Ayushman Bharat Scheme earlier today. While he was on stage, he presented a pair of slippers to a tribal woman. The event took place on the 127th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The prime minister inaugurated the first phase of the Bastar Internet scheme. Under this scheme, a 40,000 kilometre optic fibre network would be spread across seven districts of the tribal region of the state. Under this scheme and initiative, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Sukma and Dantewada will be benefitted.

During the function at Bijapur, the Prime minister presented a pair of slippers to the tribal woman under the Charan-Paduka (footwear) Scheme. According to news agency ANI, the scheme has been formulated to provide footwear to Tendu leaves, that is tendupatta, collectors to help them navigate the rough of the terrain of forest areas smoothly. As can be seen in the video, the prime minister personally helped the woman wear the footwear on the stage.

On Saturday, the prime minister also inaugurated a passenger train between Gudum and Bhanupratapur as well as a new rail line. The Prime Minister, who is on his fourth visit to Chhattisgarh, where assembly elections are scheduled to take place next year. Incidentally, PM Modi is the first prime minister to visit the tribal region of Bijapur in the state, PTI reported.

#WATCH PM Modi presented a pair of slippers to a tribal woman under the Charan-Paduka (footwear) Scheme. The scheme aims to provide footwear to Tendu leaves (tendupatta) collectors to facilitate smooth movement in the forest area pic.twitter.com/foExDYehoH — ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2018

Meanwhile, under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, the government plans to open 1.5 lakh health and wellness centre by 2022. The government aims to quip these centers to treat a variety of diseases, including diabetes, blood pressure, cancer and old-age illness. Additionally, under the scheme, the government has decided to set up the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), and work is underway to determine the beneficiaries and hospital entitlement under the scheme.

