Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated nine medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh in what he called as “a gift to the people of the state.”
Built at a cost of Rs 2,329 crore, these medical colleges are situated in the districts of Siddharthnagar, Etah, Hardoi, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Deoria, Ghazipur, Mirzapur and Jaunpur.
Addressing a public gathering after inaugurating the colleges, Prime Minister Modi said these nine colleges will create over 5,000 jobs for doctors and health staff in region and around 2,500 hospital beds will be added.
Modi said that “The medical colleges will fulfil the dreams of a healthy India. They are a gift to the people of the state.”
“Earlier governments left the people of 'Purvanchal' to suffer from diseases but now it will become a medical hub of northern India,” Modi said.
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The Prime Minister also alleged that previous governments were only "filling their family lockers" and earning for themselves. “But our priority is to use the funds to provide poor people with facilities,” he remarked.
Of these colleges, eight have been sanctioned under Centre-sponsored schemes for "establishment of new medical colleges attached with district and referral hospitals".
The medical college in Jaunpur, on the other hand, has been made functional by the Uttar Pradesh government through its own resources.
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in his address on the occasion that the newly inaugurated medical colleges will benefit both the present and future generations. “The Centre has approved 157 new medical colleges for India,” Mandaviya added.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, governor Anandiben Patel were also present during the inauguration ceremony at Siddharthnagar.
"Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, preference is given to underserved, backward and aspirational districts. The Scheme aims to increase the availability of health professionals, correct the existing geographical imbalance in the distribution of medical colleges and effectively utilize the existing infrastructure of district hospitals. Under three phases of the Scheme, 157 new medical colleges have been approved across the nation, out of which 63 medical colleges are already functional," according to a PMO statement.
