Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan along with a team of doctors and researchers from Harvard University met Chief Minister N. Chandrbabu Naidu at the Secretariat on Monday to discuss the Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) problem in the Uddanam area.
Mr. Naidu told him that the State government and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) would set up a research centre jointly to study the reasons for kidney ailments in the Uddanam area. The government would release ₹15 crore towards its share for three years, he said. He asserted that there was no dearth of funds. The government had already initiated a series of measures to help the kidney patients, he said.
Safe drinking water
The Chief Minister reminded them that the government would provide a pension of ₹2,500 per month to the patients. Safe drinking water would be provided in the Uddanam area through cluster-based (Hub and Spoke model) RO plants, he said. Mr. Pawan Kalyan accepted the offer of the government to be brand ambassador of Jeevandan, a government scheme for organ donation. The actor urged the Chief Minister to help the children who lost their parents. He wanted the government to adopt the orphan children. Responding positively, Mr. Naidu assured him that that the government would start a special school and would take care of them.
Dr. Joseph Bonventre, who led the team of doctors, suggested setting up a dedicated institute for the kidney patients. Mr. Naidu said Uddanam Research Centre would be launched soon with the support of the ICMR.
The institute would be dedicated to kidney research. Bio-banking, surveillance, DNA sequencing, patient care infrastructure, academic training and public education would be part of its activities, he said.
Medical and Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas, Harvard team members TC Ashok, Hari Prasad, Ashok Yadav, Krishnamurthy, and Rajesh were among those present.