Andhra Pradesh : Launching a universal eye care programme, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said his government was according top priority for the healthcare sector and modernisation of all government hospitals in the State would be completed by June 2022.

He also announced that seven new government medical colleges would be established in different parts of the state.

Addressing a meeting after launching the 'YSR Kanti Velugu', an universal eye care programme on World Sight Day, Jagan said kidney research centres-cum-hospitals would be opened at Palasa (Srikakulam district) and Markapuram (Prakasam) where prevalence of kidney diseases was high.

The new government medical colleges would come up at Markapuram, Piduguralla, Eluru, Paderu (tribal area), Pulivendula, Machilipatnam and Vizianagaram.

The Chief Minister said the new Aarogya Sri health insurance cards, which would contain the health data of each person, would be given to citizens from December 21.

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In addition to the 1000 diseases currently covered under the health insurance scheme, 1,200 more would be added from January 1 and a pilot project would be launched in West Godavari district, Jagan said.

Every treatment that costs more than Rs 1000 will be covered under Aarogya Sri.

Super-speciality hospitals in metros like Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru will also be networked into the scheme to ensure the poor people are not deprived of better medicare, the Chief Minister added.

Persons suffering from paralysis and muscular dystrophy would be given a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 from January 1, 2020, he said.

Jagan pointed out that over 2.12 crore people in the state were suffering from vision defects.

In six phases over three years, every citizen will be covered under the Kanti Velugu scheme and provided required eye care without having to pay a single paisa. The state government has earmarked Rs 560 crore for the scheme, he said.

In the first phase, preliminary eye tests would be conducted for over 70 lakh school students and in the second, they would be provided advanced treatment.

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