The Punjab Govt. has decided to provide free-of-cost treatment to Thallassemic kids across the state. For this, the Government has included the disease in the school health programme running under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). This was disclosed by the State Health Minister, Prof. Laxmi Kanta Chawla, who was in Jalandhar to felicitate school children, who underwent major cardiac surgeries under the school health programme. She also released one lakh rupees for the thallassemic unit situated in civil hospital, Jalandhar. Under the programme, thallassemic kids, studying either in the government or government-aided schools, would be eligible to avail the treatment, including blood transfusion, medicine and indoor facilities free of cost in the thallassemic units and wards across the state. Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, Dr SK Gupta, said the state govt. has allocated 50 lakh rupees to Punjab Health Department exclusively for the thallassemic kids which would be made available to all the thallassemic units across the state as per their demands.