(Image source from: GNS News)

Latur in Maharashtra is rolling out next week "Lifeline Express," the first hospital train that renders medical aid and relief to patients living in widespread and inaccessible area.

It will be stationed in Latur from June 15 to July 6 subsequently leaving for Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

For around three decades the Lifeline Express has been rendering free treatment to the needy in deepest India. One million people has been aided by the express, treating ailments ranging from cataracts to cancer.

The train travels all around the country rendering medical care to people who would otherwise have to travel miles to reach major infirmary.

Before moving to a new destination, it spends one month in a district and helps people who are suffering due to lack of proper medical services in their districts.

The train was launched in 1991 by Impact India Foundation and its assisted by the World Health Organization (EHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"The Lifeline Express has so far performed more than 1.37 lakh surgeries for the restoration of mobility, vision, hearing and correction of facial deformities," Ramesh Sarin, Chairman of Impact India Foundation told news agency AFP.

India is the fastest growing of the world's major economies, but a UNICEF report said some 1.2 million children died of preventable causes in the country in 2015 before their fifth birthday. The Lifeline Express is an example in the field of health services which has benefited the needy immensely.

By Sowmya Sangam