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Uttarakhand to set up 50 health ATMs on Char Dham Yatra route
The health ATMs will provide screening of various health parameters on the Char Dham route during the upcoming yatra
The Uttarakhand medical health and family welfare department on Saturday signed an agreement with private firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise to set up 50 health ATMs providing screening of various health parameters on the Char Dham route during the upcoming yatra, a senior official said.
The health ATM facility is likely to be inaugurated by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on April 24.
The MoU was signed under the CSR initiative between the director, medical health and family welfare and the director, corporate affairs and CSR of HPE in presence of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at CM camp office in Dehradun.
Medical units in Garhwal division have been identified to set up 50 health ATMs, said Dr Vinita Shah, director of the state’s medical health and family welfare department. She said the company will provide training to their health professionals in this regard and health ATMs will be operated under their supervision.
Dhami said with the facility of health ATMs, the devotees will get a lot of convenience. It’s a good step for the strengthening of medical facilities on the Char Dham Yatra route, he said. The chief minister said he expects the company to set up health ATMs for other holy places like Mansarovar Yatra, Baijnath Dham, Kainchi Dham, Purnagiri, Chitai Dham, which are located in Manaskhand. He said health facilities are being strengthened for the Char Dham yatra.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise director Ankur Malhotra said through the health ATMs being set up under the CSR initiative, screening of more than 70 health parametres can be done and tele-medicine services will also be provided.He said these services will be available throughout the day. Malhotra said once all equipments are installed in the health ATMs, their engineers will ensure their maintenance for the upcoming months.
The Char Dham yatra is scheduled to begin on April 22 this year, with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines. The portals of Kedarnath shrine will open on April 25, while the Badrinath shrine will open on April 27. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri are collectively called Char Dham. Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit the shrines annually. Char Dham shrines remain shut for around six months. They open in April or May and close in October or November. Over five million people visited the shrines and over 1.7 million Badrinath last year.
Char Dham Yatra was organised last year without any major curbs after disruptions due to Covid-19.
Last month, Dhami during a review meeting at the Secretariat in Dehradun asked all departments to complete the preparations for the yatra before it commences. On the Char Dham yatra routes, all facilities such as health, drinking water, and toilets and roads should be ensured, he said.
The CM also announced that a disaster management control room will be set up and a team from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will camp in the holy town for the smooth conduct of the Badrinath yatra, scheduled to begin in April this year. Dhami said if cracks appear on roads in Joshimath and other problems arise, they should be treated immediately.
