Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched ‘Santwana Yojana’ under which road accident victims will be given free treatment for the first 48 hours at any hospital.
The scheme, ‘Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana,’ has been named after Harish Nanjappa who donated his eyes moments before his death even as he lay severely injured seeking help after a mishap in Bengaluru last month.
Harish Nanjappa
The fear of hassles with the police and the money to be paid at the hospital were the reasons for the public not paying attention to accident victims.
The victim would receive medical care for first 48 hours and get treatment at any hospital. All hospitals would be directed not to reject accident victims.
A software covering hospital registration, patient registration, claims submission and packages would be installed for the proper implementation of the scheme.
Emergency toll free helplines would also be set up to help accident victims.
The state government has already sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the scheme and the Chief Minister had agreed to set apart an additional Rs 75 crore in the budget for the purpose.
About Harish Nanjappa
- Harish Nanjappa was crushed by a speeding truck on National Highway 4 when he was returning to Bengaluru after a visit home on his new motorbike.
- He became known in India and worldwide for his dying wish to donate his organs even as his body was cut into half and was lying on the road, while dying on the road with half his body separated several centimeters from him, he pleaded with those who took him to hospital, and the doctors, to harvest his organs and donate these to those in need.
- The Karnataka Government on 8 March 2016 launched Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana to provide free treatment to road accident victims for the first 48 hours in the nearest government or private hospital.
