December 1, 2025
Not Just In Diamond Harbour, People From Across Bengal Come To Avail Our Services: Abhishek Banerjee
AITC National General Secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday inaugurated the second chapter of Sebaashray from Maheshtala, where he announced the launch of an extensive cycle of free model medical camps that will operate across seven Assembly Constituencies over the next two months. The initiative, whose first chapter extended help to lakhs of people, aims to provide comprehensive healthcare services including diagnostics, specialist consultations, medicines, and follow-up support to people from not only the Diamond Harbour but from districts across the State. Abhishek outlined how the camps will function, who they aim to serve, and the scale of medical infrastructure arranged to ensure that every patient receives timely and free treatment.
Important Pointers From The Launch:
At the beginning of this year, we started Sebaashray. This is the second chapter of Sebaashray, which I have inaugurated from the soil of Maheshtala. Earlier, I visited a camp in Batanagar. I would request my friends from the media to take a look around this camp at Rathtala Maidan and see the infrastructural arrangements. You will find separate chambers for every department, from orthopaedics and neurology to paediatrics and more, each with specialised doctors
We have organised everything from blood tests and serology tests to USG, ECG, and breast cancer screenings. Whatever issues people may have, we have tried to arrange every test possible within our capacity. Those coming for blood tests will receive their reports directly on their phone or WhatsApp within two days. We have also arranged medicines in such a way that whatever doctors prescribe; be it for 7 days, 10 days, or 15 days, we provide everything free of cost, just as we did last time
You will be glad to know that last time nearly 12 lakh people came to these camps, and we provided them with free medical care. Not just from the Diamond Harbour Parliamentary Constituency but from various districts and far corners of the State, people came to these camps. I am thankful to the Almighty that we did not let anyone leave empty-handed
There were over 2,500 cataract surgeries. Around 7,000 cases were referred to different hospitals, including SSKM, Bangur, Diamond Harbour Medical College, and others, and we successfully addressed all those cases. We stayed in constant touch with families
These model camps themselves are equipped to address many critical medical issues. Yet, wherever additional care was needed, we referred patients to super-speciality hospitals, but our duty did not end with the referral. Our dedicated team of volunteers and doctors stayed in direct contact with patients. If someone was not satisfied, for example, many neurological cases came last time, we even sent them to South India and other places
There was a child named Altaf Hussain Ghorami, 9 years old, who had a hole in his heart. We ensured he was admitted to JIMS Hospital in Budge Budge, received treatment, and returned home healthy. There are many such cases. Some came from Birbhum, some from North 24 Parganas, but we did not let anyone go back without help
In Maheshtala, there are two model camps, one in Lungi and another in Batanagar, and in the remaining six Assembly Constituencies, we are setting up one dedicated model camp each. We will organise seven camps in each Assembly constituency
For example, it begins today in Maheshtala and will continue for seven days. On the eighth day, the camp will move to Metiabruz. After seven days there, it will shift to Budge Budge, then Bishnupur, Satgachhia, and finally Diamond Harbour. Last time, we started with Diamond Harbour, and this time we will end there
This programme will conclude on 22 January. There will be a break on the 23 January for Saraswati Puja, and from 24 to 28 January, all the model camps will run simultaneously for five days. Many patients come for follow-ups after 15 days or a month, and doctors advise them to come again, so we have kept these five days for follow-up camps
In the basic setup that we have arranged, you will find everything, serology tests, portable X-ray, and ECG, all of which are available in the camps. But in the model camps, we have also kept 10 to 12 dedicated specialist doctors. There is an eye check-up facility too. Last time, we made spectacles for around 40,000 people who had eye problems, and none of them had to come to collect their glasses, our representatives delivered them to their homes. This is the Diamond Harbour model! Whenever we have felt that someone needed something, we have tried to deliver it within our capacity
The way people have bound me to this soil of Diamond Harbour with their love, I remain forever grateful. I often say this: my janmabhumi might be Kalighat, South Kolkata, but my karmabhumi is Diamond Harbour. That is why I would ask you to visit the camp once. We have created a separate X-ray section so that radiation causes no issues. There is a separate waiting area, registration system, and pharmacy. When we first started last time, we worked for 70-75 days, and we learned from that experience. Based on those learnings, we have improved the arrangements even further this time
