'Sparsh Kusht Jagrukta Abhiyan' took off today in Daltonganj. It was launched by the civil surgeon Palamu Dr Anil Kumar. 

The awareness drive will conclude on February 14. This drive is dedicated to Bapu. 

A fleet of 2,157 Sahiyas will be moving around in their respective panchayats to create awareness about leprosy. 

Civil surgeon said "It is definitely for awareness about leprosy but at the same time if Sahiyas come across complaints about loss of sensation, change in the colour of the skin etc they will persuade such people to visit the nearest government health centre."

20 children are down with leprosy. 5 of the 20 are cases of multi bacillary leprosy while 15 children have pauci bacillary leprosy. 

In a candid comment Dr Anil Kumar said if children are infected with leprosy, it means its transmission is on and this is simply worrisome. 

A total of 337 multi bacillary leprosy persons are undergoing treatment in Palamu. 

Similarly 116 persons having pauci bacillary leprosy are having medication. 

Journalists raised the point that household surveys for leprosy in the urban area are just fake as teams never reach urban households. 

Civil surgeon assured that this time there would be a serious knocking at the door by way of creating awareness about leprosy and if any case is suspected of leprosy. 

A Sahiya is expected to reach 25 houses a day but in hard to reach locations this number for visiting houses is negotiable, added the civil surgeon. 

Leprosy is not taboo and hence it is to be discussed at Sakhi Mandal, anganwadi kendras etc just to have awareness that leprosy is mostly curable.