The Telangana government today decided to give a social security pension of Rs 1,000 per month to those suffering from lymphatic filariasis from the next fiscal.
 

Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by microscopic, thread-like worms. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said funds would be allocated in the coming state Budget to provide the pension, a release from his office said. The decision would benefit 47,000 people suffering from lymphatic filariasis in the state, it said. The decision came following a representation made by TRS MP K Kavitha and state Roads and Buildings Minister T Nageswara Rao, the release added.

The government has also decided to conduct medical tests at government expense for people by taking a village as a unit, the release said. "The government will conduct the tests for every one in every village on a regular basis," the release quoted Rao as saying. The government would increase the salaries of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and other health personnel, Rao said, adding Telangana should emerge as a role model for the country in public health.