PANAJI
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has signalled that its flagship “health model” will be the centrepiece of its campaign for the upcoming Zilla Panchayat elections scheduled for December 13.
The party, which has opened dozens of ‘Amche Arogya Polyclinics’ across Goa, styled along the lines of its famed ‘Mohalla Clinic’ model, said in a statement on Sunday that it has successfully completed more than 100 free health camps in Salcete taluka alone, calling it the “biggest community health outreach” by any political organisation in the State.
The statement came alongside the inauguration of Goa’s first free Diabetic Retinopathy Centre set up at Benaulim by AAP MLA Capt Venzy Viegas.
Addressing the gathering, Viegas said: “Providing free medical services to the people will always remain my foremost duty. If you have diabetes, you must take diabetic retinopathy seriously. For timely care and treatment, patients should visit our clinics in Benaulim and Carmona.”
The event was attended by LASIK and corneal eye surgeon Dr Sean S Da Silva, as well as AAP coordinators from the seven villages in the Benaulim constituency. Local residents welcomed the initiative, noting that the concept of free medical clinics was new to Goa and should ideally be adopted at the government level.
AAP leaders emphasised that the health outreach was not limited to one constituency. The party said, the 117 health camps covered villages across Salcete and beyond.
Velim MLA Cruz Silva said the initiative reflected AAP’s governance model of welfare and service.
AAP Working President Gerson Gomes added, “AAP believes in people‘centric politics. These 100+ health camps have touched thousands of lives across Salcete.”
Vice President Roque Mascarenhas described the outreach as evidence of the party’s organisational strength, while Vice President James Fernandes stressed that “health is a right, not a luxury.”
