HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, April 12 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Assam on Friday and inaugurate development projects worth around Rs 14,300 crore, including an AIIMS and three medical institutions.
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Among other projects, Modi will lay the foundation stone of a bridge on the Brahmaputra river connecting Palashbari and Sualkuchi and also launch the beautification exercise of Rang Ghar, Sivasagar, a statement said.
One of the highlights of Modi’s visit will be a mega Bihu dance which will feature more than 10,000 performers.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Guwahati will start functioning with 150 beds from April 14 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates it, a top official of the premier medical facility said on Wednesday.
Patient care services at AIIMS, Guwahati had started with telemedicine from August last year and limited OPD for local residents began in September, executive director Ashok Puranik said at a press conference here.
He said 85 percent construction work at the project site is already complete.
Most of the clinical departments are functional with the outpatient department handling an average of 150 patients per day. The services include day care, pharmacy, laboratory facilities and radiological investigations, he said.
“We are taking baby steps at present with 150 beds to become functional from April 14, but within the next three or four years, the hospital will be fully functional with a capacity of 750 beds,” Puranik said.
The hospital will provide “high-quality patient care services” in various specialities and super specialities including cardiology, neurology, burns and plastic surgery, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery and interventional radiology, the official said.
AIIMS, Guwahati was established with the three-pronged objective of state-of-the-art patient care, high-quality medical education and cutting-edge research, which will not only benefit Assam, but also its neighbouring states of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur, he said.
“The institute aims to correct regional imbalances in the availability of affordable and reliable tertiary healthcare services, to augment facilities for quality medical education and provide comprehensive, quality and holistic tertiary care health services to the people of Assam and neighbouring states,” Puranik said.
It will also provide cancer care, advanced laparoscopy facilities, trauma care and “futuristic interventions like robotic surgery, organ transplantation, regenerative medicine, genetics and simulation lab”.
The operationalisation of AIIMS, Guwahati will mark a momentous occasion for the state of Assam and the entire North-East region, a release said, asserting that this is a testimony of Modi’s commitment to strengthening health infrastructure across the country.
The foundation stone of this hospital was also laid by Modi in May 2017. (With inputs from PTI)
