Surat's diamond baron realizes Kalam's dream of healthy India

LATHI (Amreli): In 2014, when India's 'Missile Man' Dr APJ Kalam visited diamond baron Govind Dholakiya's Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, he had urged him to work for improving the health of people in villages. Three years later, 67-year-old Dholakiya has fulfilled Dr Kalam's wish by launching a mega free health check-up and laboratory tests for over one lakh people in his native Lathi taluka of Amreli district.
The project aimed at early detection and treatment of diseases is considered one-of-its-kind and largest in the country where complete health check-up and 22 tests will be offered free of cost to people of 52 villages in Lathi taluka.
"We have named the project as 'SRKKalam Health project. We are already providing medical facilities for free in Surat and in our medical centre in Lathi since last two decades. Now, we have taken up the unique and most important health check-up project to include over 1 lakh people of Lathi taluka," Dholakiya told TOI.
"Till now, we have collected 20,000 blood samples from villages of Lathi and set up a dedicated laboratory with specialists in Surat. A team consisting of doctors and lab technicians are daily visiting the villages with ambulance to collect blood samples. Once we complete collection of 1 lakh, we will present a detailed report to the government with results. We want to make this a model case and declare that if we can do it, government can also do it," Dholakia added.
A complete body check-up in private laboratories can cost anything between Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000.
"Once 1 lakh blood samples are collected, we will have the complete data category-wise. This report will guide the government to take step towards the betterment of people's health,'' he said.
A person who has given the blood sample receives the report within a week are prescribed treatment based on the findings.
A doctor associated with the project said that the sheer scale of this preventive health check-up project is important. "People, especially in rural areas, remain unaware about the ailments they are suffering from as there is not much awareness about such health check-ups," he said.