Agra, Dec 2 (IANS) The first open heart surgery in Uttar Pradesh under the ambitious Ayushman Bharat project has been performed here on Saturday.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Agra district, Mukesh Vats said Devendra, 50, from Mainpuri, was the first beneficiary of the project.

He was operated in the Pushpanjali Hospital by a team of doctors including Atul Gupta and Dinesh Jain.

Coming from low-income background, Devendra could not afford the treatment earlier, but the Ayushman Bharat came as a God-sent opportunity for him to lead a better and healthier life.

--IANS bk/pgh/