A 65-year-old woman, Kewal Kaur of Panwa village in Hoshiarpur district, Punjab, underwent free knee replacement surgery on April 17 at the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Jalandhar under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana. The procedure, which cost approximately Rs 1.5 lakh, was fully covered by the state government's health scheme, eliminating financial burden for the patient's family.

Kaur had suffered from severe knee pain for five years, limiting mobility and requiring constant support to walk. Her son, Mandeep Singh, a local farmer, said prior treatments failed and surgery became the only option. He had registered for the scheme after reading about it in a newspaper, enabling access to care. The two-hour surgery was led by Dr. Anit Sachar and his team.

Five other elderly patients from Mohali, Hoshiarpur, and surrounding areas also received similar free knee surgeries under the same scheme, with only minimal out-of-pocket costs for initial diagnostic tests—around Rs 2,400. The Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana provides coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary care.

Kaur is recovering at the hospital, with stitches expected to be removed soon. She described Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as 'like a third son' for enabling treatment without cost. Hospital officials confirmed her progress is on track.

The Punjab Health Department will continue expanding beneficiary outreach for the scheme, with PIMS Jalandhar scheduled to conduct another round of orthopedic surgeries under the program on April 25.