The government of Tripura opens a new cancer patient help desk

To ensure that cancer patients receive their social pensions on time, the Tripura government launched a new support desk at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Regional Cancer Centre (AVBRCC) in Agartala on Thursday. A support desk was established at the AVBRCC by Tinku Roy, Minister of Social Welfare and Social Education, to help enrol cancer patients who are eligible for a Rs 2,000 monthly social stipend. The support desk would expedite the completion of documentation and enrolment procedures for new social pension applicants within a month in order to avoid patient harassment and delays in obtaining their pension.

According to standards cited by a senior health official, cancer patients in the state are eligible for the pension, with the exception of government employees and those earning more than Rs 1.5 lakh annually. Attendees included cancer sufferers, representatives from the Health Department, Social Welfare and Social Education Department, and former Tripura Assembly Speaker Ratan Chakraborty, who also serves as the chair of the AVBRCC’s “Rogi Kalyan Samiti.” There are currently close to 4,000 cancer sufferers in Tripura.