Jaipur: President A P J Abdul Kalam on December 22 set off on a two-day visit of the drought-hit areas of Rajasthan to "share the pain of its people".

Declaring that the desert state of Rajasthan is "very close to me", Kalam, who guided Indian nuclear explosions in Pokhran in the state for several years, said he had come to "share the pain of the people of the desert who are going through severe drought".

"I love the desert where I spent long periods every year," he said.

Kalam, who drove straight from the airport on his arrival from Delhi, inaugurated the Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre before proceeding to Udaipur to visit famine affected areas.

The President, who would be visiting drought-hit areas in Udaipur, Barmer and Jaisalmer districts on December 22 and 23, called for developing a "new mindset" for management of cancer because "patients deserve the best".

Giving a roadmap of cancer care, he stressed the need for establishing a clinical data base, focussing on practical clinical efforts like developing integrated solutions and working on genome project, and making cancer treatment affordable for the poor, besides providing active connectivity with cancer institutes for general medical practitioners.

PTI