Awareness on wheels

Following the directions of the Chief Minister and state Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, a medical van to raise awareness on Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana was flagged off from Phagwara. The van will cover various villages in the district to inform locals about the scheme. Doctor Kamal Kishore, Senior Medical Officer, Phagwara Civil Hospital and Kamal Dhaliwal, son of Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, gave the green signal to the bus. For the next few months, the van will raise awareness about the medical scheme and workers will urge beneficiaries to apply for the scheme. Kamal Dhaliwal said people from underprivileged class could avail benefit of medical treatment of up to Rs5 lakh from any government hospital or any empaneled hospital. Moreover, the SMO said, any blue card holder who has his name in the survey report issued by the government or is registered as labourer could avail a separate Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana card. With a copy of Aadhaar card and other documents, a beneficiary could enroll himself in the scheme at any government hospital, market committee and common service centres.

Quick disbursal of funds

Amid apprehensions over the non-implementation of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme, by the councillor and opposition leaders, Phagwara Municipal Corporation commissioner Rajeev Verma held a meeting with the bank officials for immediate disbursement of funds under the scheme. The scheme was rolled out under Atmanirbhar Bharat to extend collateral free working capital loans of up to Rs10,000 to street vendors. Thousands of vendors registered under the MC are expected to receive the benefit. Verma apprised senior officials about the loans being provided under the scheme. The scheme encourages self-employment among street vendors. So far, camps at various places have been organised to raise aware among beneficiaries of the scheme and maximum enrolment of vendors.

English Olympiad champ!

Adding another feather to her cap, Bhavni Bhatnagar, a student of Cambridge International School, Phagwara, has clinched the second spot in the state English Olympiad. The competition was organised by Common Service Centre Olympiad. To motivate Bhavni, a student of Class IV, a tablet was also given to her as an award. Chairman KS Vasi, Chairman of Vasal Education Group Sanjeev Vasal and Principal Joravar Singh congratulated the student for her achievement.

(Contributed by Ajay Joshi)