Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to distribute health cards during Malkangiri visit today

BHUBANESWAR: Elaborate arrangements are in place for chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s one-day visit to Malkangiri on Friday, which will be his first public meeting outside Bhubaneswar since the second wave struck.
Official sources said Naveen will attend the state-level launch of the expansion of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), under which the government plans to cover 96 lakh families.
The chief minister will distribute smart health cards to beneficiaries under the revised BSKY scheme from Malkangiri, which will continue across the state at a later stage.“All arrangements have been done keeping in mind Covid-19 protocols. RT-PCR tests of all attendees and guests have already been done,” Malkangiri district collector Vishal Singh said. He said security arrangements have also been done as per protocol for the chief minister’s visit.
While Naveen will attend the function at the district headquarters town and address a small public rally, half a dozen of ministers will attend the programme through video-conference in different blocks and urban local bodies in the district.
Sources said health minister Naba Das, SC/ST minister Jagannath Sarka, school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash, textiles and handlooms minister Padmini Dian, agriculture minister Arun Sahoo, forest minister Bikram Keshari Arukh, sports minister Tusharkanti Behera, planning and convergence minister Padmanabha Behera and other senior BJD leaders are camping in the tribal-dominated district to coordinate Naveen’s programme.
Following the state-level launch of smart health cards in Malkangiri, the government has planned several such meetings to distribute the cards to 96 lakh families across the state from September 1.
The ruling party plans a massive outreach programme at the grass-roots level through the health assurance scheme ahead of the three-tier panchayat polls, scheduled early next year.