For four-year-old Priya, something as ordinary as walking had become a daily struggle.
Born with Club Foot, her left foot had not developed normally. For four years, every step was difficult. Her mother, Gudiya Devi, a resident of Rahmat village under Bhuiya Chitro Panchayat in Topchanchi block, knew that her daughter needed medical attention. But for a family already struggling financially, proper treatment remained beyond reach.
Then came the RBSK Special Treatment Camp. Through the intervention of the Dhanbad District Administration, Priya was referred for specialist care and ultimately received successful surgery at the tertiary-care level.
And then came the moment her family had been waiting for. Priya walked normally. After four years of difficulty, the little girl could now walk, play and take part in everyday childhood activities like other children.
For Gudiya Devi, the change was not simply medical. It was the return of a childhood she had feared her daughter might never experience.
“Our objective is to ensure that a child’s family background or financial circumstances do not become a barrier to receiving timely diagnosis, specialist treatment and the follow-up care that may be required,” IAS Aditya Ranjan, currently posted as DC Dhanbad, shared in an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds.
Also read: The JRDA Story: How Dhanbad Is Moving 15,080 Families Away from India’s Century-Old Underground Coal Fires
A Health Camp That Looks Beyond the First Consultation
Priya’s story is perhaps the most moving face of an initiative that is reaching far beyond a single medical condition.
Under the direction of IAS Aditya Ranjan, the Dhanbad District Administration is conducting a Special Health Campaign under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) for children aged 0–18 years.
The idea is straightforward but significant: identify health problems early, connect children with specialists, ensure treatment and referral, and continue following their progress even after they leave the camp.
Since 11 August 2026, around 1,600 children have benefited from free healthcare services.
The first phase saw around 700 children treated through CHC-level camps across all blocks, followed by a district-level Special Treatment Camp that benefited around 900 children through specialist consultations, investigations and treatment.
The numbers tell one part of the story. The children tell the other.
From Dental Pain to Clearer Smiles
Among them was eight-year-old Alisha Parween, daughter of Md Rahmat Ansari. Identified as requiring dental intervention, Alisha received specialist consultation and follow-up for MTA pulpotomy, helping manage the affected tooth and preserve its healthy structure.
For her family, access to specialist care meant that a problem that could have continued troubling her could instead be addressed in time.
Dental beneficiaries were also provided Oral Health Kits containing toothpaste, toothbrushes and tongue cleaners, turning treatment into an opportunity for better everyday health practices.
Hundreds Reached Across Specialities
The district-level camp has brought together medical services across several specialties. As many as 232 children received dental treatment, while 33 children received Club Foot treatment and follow-up. Another 96 children received dermatological care.
On 20 August, around 150 children received consultations in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Medicine and Paediatrics. The following day, 113 children received eye-related services.
Children requiring spectacles will be provided glasses, while those needing eye surgery will be supported for further treatment.
The camp also addressed hearing-related concerns. On 22 August, 103 children were examined, including 64 children with hearing-related concerns. Of these, 28 were advised hearing aids. Around 30 ENT beneficiaries will receive hearing aids free of cost, while children requiring surgery will be facilitated for further care.
Neurology, ENT and General Surgery services were also made available, alongside consultations and treatment under other specialties.
A dedicated Cleft Lip & Palate Camp was held on 24 August 2026, providing specialised examination, counselling and treatment.
“A health intervention is meaningful only when it reaches the child who needs it. We are therefore working to connect screening, specialist consultation, treatment, referral and follow-up into one continuous system of care,” stated the officer.
The Journey Does Not End at the Camp
Perhaps the most important feature of the campaign is that the administration is not treating the camp as a one-day medical exercise. Regular follow-up and referrals are being ensured for children who need additional treatment.
Transportation has also been arranged to bring children from distant and remote areas to the camps and take them back after treatment. This matters in districts where distance, travel costs and family circumstances can often determine whether a child actually reaches a hospital.
The mobilisation effort has brought together the RBSK Team, Health Department, Education Department, ICDS and District Administration. Meanwhile, counselling sessions at Yuva Maitri Kendra, Sadar Hospital, Dhanbad, have focused on emotional well-being, health awareness and the overall development of schoolchildren.
The RBSK Mobile Teams have also screened approximately 3,500 children across all blocks of Dhanbad district over six months, identifying children who require specialist consultation, treatment and follow-up.
Putting Children’s Treatment on a Digital Track
The campaign is also moving towards a technology-backed system of monitoring.
Under Aditya Ranjan’s direction, the District Administration is developing a dedicated district-level RBSK website for systematic documentation, follow-up and monitoring of children identified through the programme.
The proposed platform will help track treatment status and enable the administration to monitor children requiring continued care.
That could prove important because the real measure of a healthcare programme is not simply how many children enter a camp, but how many continue receiving the care they need after leaving it.
“We want the system to remain connected with every child after the initial intervention, so that referrals, treatment status and follow-up are not lost once the camp is over,” he told Indian Masterminds.
A Different Kind of Administrative Success
In the end, the impact of the campaign is best understood not through statistics alone.
It is in a mother watching her four-year-old daughter take normal steps after years of difficulty.
It is in a child receiving dental treatment that her family could not otherwise afford. It is in a child being identified for spectacles, another being connected to a hearing aid, and another being referred for surgery.
For Gudiya Devi, the RBSK camp opened a door that financial hardship had kept closed for four years. For Priya, that door led to her first normal steps.
And for Dhanbad’s district administration under IAS Aditya Ranjan, the larger challenge now is to ensure that these interventions do not remain isolated moments of relief, but become part of a system in which children are identified early, treated in time and followed until they are genuinely better.
The District Administration has acknowledged the continued support of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Health Minister Irfan Ansari towards strengthening child healthcare services, while appealing to citizens to bring identified and needy children to the respective health camps and make use of the free specialist services.
From a healthier smile for Alisha to Priya finally walking without the difficulty that had followed her since birth, the campaign is quietly changing what childhood can look like for hundreds of children across Dhanbad.
And sometimes, the most powerful measure of public service is remarkably simple: A child takes a step, and this time, nothing stands in the way.
Also read: Transforming Education in Jharkhand, One School at a Time
