Patiala, Jan. 24 -- Punjab has emerged as one of the worst-performing states in the country in terms of providing 'poshan baskets (food items)' to registered tuberculosis (TB) patients. Only 16% of the registered TB patients across the state have been able to receive nutritional support, official data under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan revealed. Under the Centre's flagship TB elimination programme, voluntary donors known as Ni-kshay Mitras, including individuals, NGOs, corporates, political parties, or institutions, adopt TB patients and provide nutritional, diagnostic, and vocational support. The monthly nutritional food baskets comprising pulses, cereals, edible oil and other essential food items are to aid recovery, improve treatment outcomes and address undernutrition, a major risk factor associated with TB. However, Punjab's performance remains far below the national average of around 50%. According to the state-wise data, as accessed by HT, Punjab ranks third from last, just above the bottom two states of Andhra Pradesh (12%) and Bihar (3%) coverage. According to the data available with HT, out of 68,225 notified TB patients in Punjab, 52,503 consented to receive Poshan support. Yet, only 8,489 patients have received a food basket, translating to a coverage of just 16%. In contrast, several states and Union Territories have achieved near-universal coverage, including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Tripura, where more than 80% of TB patients are receiving at least one poshan basket. The district-wise breakup of the 23 districts of Punjab paints an even starker picture. Several districts reported single-digit coverage. Ludhiana, which has the highest TB caseload in the state, recorded the poorest performance, with only 1% of patients receiving Poshan support. Bathinda followed at 2%, Fazilka at 3%, Kapurthala at 4% and Patiala at 5%. Out of 23 districts, only two districts, Moga (76%) and Malerkotla (56%), have reported more coverage than the national average of 50%. Dr Rajesh Bhasker, state nodal officer for TB, said that most of the patients were not turning up collect food baskets. "Poshan baskets are being provided to the TB patients, and some districts, like Moga, Malerkotla, are performing well above the national average. But in the majority of the districts, patients are not turning up to take the basket. Amritsar was providing cooked meals every day to registered TB Patients instead of providing food baskets," he said....