Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], April 14 : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the Metropolitan Surveillance Unit (MSU) at Boileauganj in Shimla on Tuesday.
The Metropolitan Surveillance Unit (MSU) is a specialised urban health system established for Rs 1.56 crore and equipped with modern technologies.
The Chief Minister said that the Metropolitan Surveillance Unit will serve as an early warning system for Shimla and will ensure timely action. In the event of any disaster or outbreak, this unit will become active, analyse the situation and alert the hospitals. This type of modern surveillance unit has been established in only 20 cities of India, and Himachal is the first and only hill state to have this technology.
The Metropolitan Surveillance Unit has been established through a tripartite agreement involving the National Health Mission, the National Centre for Disease Control and the Shimla Municipal Corporation, said the Chief Minister. This initiative marks a historic step towards making Shimla a safe, healthy and responsive city.
He said that MSU's functions include generating and verifying alerts on health-related events and supporting the collection and analysis of samples for water, food, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. The MSU will also facilitate planning and coordination of response by stakeholders such as civic bodies and health, food safety and animal husbandry departments and build the city's capacity to respond to disease outbreaks.
The Chief Minister visited the operational area, including the laboratory of the MSU.
MLA Harish Janartha, Mayor Surinder Chauhan, Deputy Mayor Uma Kaushal, DC Anupam Kashyap, SP Gaurav Singh and Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bhupender Attri were also present on the occasion.