The grounds at the Telangana Social Welfare Residential School and Junior College for Boys in Shaikpet here was buzzing on Monday morning. Beneath a wide tent pitched in the middle of the ground, nearly 700 students sat with their eyes fixed on a small stage at the front which had a banner of National Deworming Day.
On the stage stood 10-year-old Rohit (name changed), chosen to be the first recipient of the Albendazole (400g) tablet. He had earlier been told how to take the medicine. Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha stepped forward, tore a single tablet from a strip of 10 and put the white tablet into Rohit’s mouth. The boy swallowed it with a sip of water. To make the moment a little sweeter, the Minister handed him a chocolate, smiling as the crowd of students watched.
One by one, the next four children who were on stage received their dose from Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Sangeetha Satyanarayana and Hyderabad District Collector Hari Chandana Dasari. Later, all the other students were attended to by a team of doctors and health workers.
Speaking to the students, the Health Minister explained that worm infections often increase after monsoon, particularly when changes in weather affect food quality. “Such infections can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting and anaemia,” he added.
