A modern well-equipped sickle-cell lab is to be set up at Kohalpur in Banke district in a bid to eliminate sickle-cell anemia that is rife among the Tharus.

The Kohalpur municipality is going to set up the lab in subsidy from the Ministry of Health. The Ministry has released Rs 10.1 million of over Rs 30 million for the lab as the first installment.

Municipality’s Deputy Mayor Sanju Kumari Tharu shared that the diagnosis of sickle-cell anemia had been an issue in lack of a proper lab. Tharu informed, "The Ministry of Health has provided budget for the current fiscal year. We will commence the construction of the lab very soon."

She was confident that after the lab comes into operation, it would aid in detection and control of sickle-cell anemia.

Sickle-cell disease is a group of inherited red and control blood cell disorders. Patients develop the symptoms of low amount of hemoglobin in blood, jaundice and acute pain in chest and joints among others.

The local government last year had conducted a blood test among 1,352 students from Tharu community last year during which 132 students were found to have sickle-cell, added the Deputy Mayor.

Sickle-cell has been a major health risks among the Tharus. Many people lose their lives to this hereditary disease in lack of proper medical intervention. It is curable if the patient gets timely medical help, before their condition aggravates and lead to several health complications.