The State Health and Family Welfare Department has launched a campaign to end social discrimination against leprosy patients and allowing them to join the mainstream of society.
The auspicious occasion of 'Rakshabandhan' will reverberate with 'Bharam Mita Dho, Bhaiyya Mere, Kusht Rog ke' slogan across the State, an official press release informed.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Ajay Chandrakar in a letter written to the MPs, MlAs, Zilla Panchayat Chairpersons, panchs-sarpanchs and other people's representatives had appealed to them to spread the message of ending discrimination against leprosy patients and many myths around the disease.
The Health Department officials said that leprosy does not spread by eating, touching, moving around with leprosy patients.
The Department has decided to celebrate 'Rakshabandhan' with them. The women leprosy patients will tie 'Rakhis' to men and women will tie Rakhis to male leprosy patients.
The officials said that awareness campaigns will be held at all the gram panchayat headquarter levels on August 7.
Till March 2017 about 12, 609 leprosy patients had been detected and identified.
About 12, 081 leprosy had been cured by proper medication. Rest of the patients are under medication.
The medicines are distributed free of cost.