New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Thursday sent 15 mobile medical units to Himachal Pradesh on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday to provide free healthcare services to the people of the state.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya flagged off the mobile medical units from Thakur's official residence in Delhi.

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"When country will be celebrating Modi ji's birthday tomorrow, these 15 mobile medical units will be there in Himachal Pradesh to serve the people of the state in its every nook and corner," Thakur said while addressing the event.

"We all have decided to celebrate Prime Minister's birthday as service and dedication and with this spirit today 15 more mobile medical units are being sent to Himachal Pradesh," he said.

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Thakur said he had started free mobile medical units with three vehicles to serve the people of his parliamentary constituency of Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh in April 2018.

"Now, we are running a total of 17 mobile medical units under Asptal programme which visits at least 17 villages every day to provide free healthcare services. Through these mobile units, we have provided free health check-up services, medicines and treatments to about six lakh people so far," he said.

During the testing times of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thakur said, Asptal services continued providing access to primary healthcare services even in the remotest of the locations.

"Each mobile medical unit that is equipped with an experienced team of doctors, nurses and lab technicians has the capacity of undertaking 40 different medical tests such as KFT, LFT, Lipid Profile, Creatinine, Uric Acid, BUN, Sugar, Glucose, etc," he said.

With the addition of 15 new mobile medical units, the fleet of 32 mobile medical units will reach every nook and corner of the state and provide free healthcare services to more people, he said.

"Our target is to provide free health check-ups, medicines and treatment to 21 lakh people (in Himachal Pradesh) in the next five years with the addition of more mobile medical units," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mandaviya appreciated Thakur's initiative, saying it was worth emulating by others.

"The sending of 15 more vehicles by Anurag Thakur ji to Himachal on the occasion of the Prime Minister's birthday shows his devotion towards his people. This campaign of Anurag Thakur ji needs to be followed as much as possible. I am very happy to be associated with this campaign and to be a witness to this opportunity," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)