PMJAY scheme saving lives of thousands of destitute Kashmiris

Special grants help poverty stricken patients to avail modern health facilities.

Wahid Bhat | Srinagar

In the middle of the damp earth giving out a putrid odor and clouds of mosquitoes from whose buzzing and strings is no respite, a cluster of houses stretches in Zakura area of Srinagar- the summer capital Jammu and Kashmir state.

Inside one of these seedy looking structures lives 57-year-old Taja Begum.  It leaves this middle aged widow frightened with eyes haggard and features livid as she recalls the time when a severe heart ailment put in dire straits. Mother of two sons- one a daily wage labour in possession of a meager income and another a student whose studies are dependent on government grants, Taja saw herself plunged into deep trouble when she was advised by the medicos to undergo surgery. She had no money, no assets and no resources that could have been pressed into service for her surgery. 

She recalls how she used to pray all day, hoping of some divine help that could take her out from the sordid condition. Help came one day when a neighbour informed this perturbed lady about Ayushman Bharat –Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana or AB-PMJAY scheme. 

It was her son who rushed to one of the empaneled hospitals to inquire further about the scheme and how it could save his ailing mother.  I was asked to submit the requisite documents, said Taja and added that only after a thorough verification she was declared eligible for the treatment. 

Upon confirmation that she was eligible, the AM generated and issued her Golden Card immediately.

Post issuance of Golden Card, Taja was admitted in reputed Khyber Hospital of Srinagar to undergo surgery for her heart ailment. The surgery was successfully performed on Taja by placing a Double Chamber Pace Maker. The total cost of the surgery and treatment borne by the Govt. under AB-PMJAY scheme was more than Rs.1 lac. 

“This is what you call the divine help and I was praying for it. The amount that was incurred on my treatment is beyond the reach of my reason. I couldn't have earned this much for my entire life. I don't know what would have happened to me if the government wouldn’t have helped me out of that dreadful morass,”

Says Taja (Patient)

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2018, under the Ayushman Bharat Mission of MoHFW in India. The scheme aims at making interventions in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both preventive and promotive health, to address healthcare holistically. The health scheme is operational in all the 22 districts of Jammu and Kashmir with over an estimated 200 cases on an average being registered every day.  Like Taja Begum, there are thousands of underprivileged people being benefited at a large scale through the said scheme.

As per the departmental data more than 25 thousand cases have been received till date, and out of 24304 submitted claims, more than 18108 have been settled. 

Note: Taja Begum’s name changed on patient’s request.