Odisha CM For Continuation Of Treatment Of Jaga-Kalia Twins At AIIMS

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday requested the Centre to allow the continuation of treatment and care of the separated conjoined twins Jaga and Kalia at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

In a letter to the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J. P. Nadda, the Chief Minister said the professional team at AIIMS, New Delhi had conducted an extremely rare and difficult surgery last year for separating the craniopagus twins Jaga and Kalia who hail from the tribal district of Kandhamal in Odisha.

Informing the Union Minister that the state government has been regularly sending teams of specialists to AIIMS to review their condition, he said the specialists have said that though the twins are recovering well, they have not yet attained stable health condition on account of their being underweight and neurologically impaired.
“While the twins have not become fit enough for home care, it is learnt that the Department of Neurology, AIIMS is pressing to discharge the babies unilaterally against the views of the team of specialists from our state and despite the request of the state government to continue their treatment at AIIMS,” he pointed out.

He further said that though Odisha has adequate health infrastructure, it may not be able to respond to the special medical needs and care that the twins demand.
“Any capacity constraint in their treatment could prove counter-productive to all the serious and committed efforts made by AIIMS till now,” the Chief Minister said and requested the Union Minister to advise the concerned authorities at AIIMS to continue the treatment and care of the twins till they are fit enough for home care with an assurance that the state will bear all medical and related expenses.