Mangaluru : Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader said Ullal will be a first kerosene free TMC in Dakshina Kannada district on March 11. All the remaining 570 BPL families out of the 1300 BPL card holders are provided LPG connections, he added.

Speaking to the reporters on Monday at Circuit House in Mangaluru he said, 570 BPL very poor families will get free LPG connections within the date. Food and civil supplies department conducted the survey for the free gas connection scheme. He said.

The Karnataka government has been the first to propose universal health care by which the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families will get treatment free of cost. The Above Poverty Line (APL) families will get treatment at a subsidised cost.

He expressed his unhappiness over the Union Budget not proposing any measures that may helps the common man.

Mr. Khader said the Union Government should have come forward to support the State governments in implementation of universal health care scheme. Such an initiative would have led the Centre to reach out to persons who are in need of assistance.

Instead, the Centre has proposed increase in the quantum of health insurance from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000. “This will make the insurance companies richer and not the needy patients,” he said.

H1N1 tests are done free of cost at NIMHANS and Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru he informed.

“Our Chief Minister has earmarked funds for implementation of this scheme. We do not need Centre’s assistance,” Mr. Khader told reporters.