AGARTALA, Oct 14: Tripura chief minister Manik Saha on Saturday
said that Gobinda Ballav Pant (GBP) Hospital in Agartala had
emerged as the savour of ‘Muktiyoddhas’ (liberation warriors) who
were injured during the 1971 war which led to the birth of
Bangladesh.
The GBP Hospital was established in 1961, and it became an institute
– Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) – in 2005.
“The GBP Hospital turned out to be the savour for thousands of
injured Muktiyoddhas who fought and were injured in the country’s
liberation war that broke out in 1971. The doctors who have crossed
60 years of age saved thousands of lives then,” he said during the
foundation day ceremony of the GBP Hospital and AGMC.
Saha asserted that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina knows
the contribution of GBP Hospital to the liberation war.
“This is why Sheikh Hasina has always been in love and affection for
the hilly state which had emerged as a launching pad for
Muktiyoddhas against the Pakistani Army,” he said.
Asserting that the government has been trying to boost healthcare
facilities in the northeastern state, the chief minister said a dental
college and a nursing college have been established within a short
period.
The AGMC offers 125 seats for MBBS and 80 for PG courses, he said,
adding that seven new super speciality departments have also been
set up in the GBP Hospital.
Saha said a new scheme in the line Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana has been introduced for the people.
“The people who are not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat) will be given medical insurance of
Rs 5 lakh to each family a year. An amount of Rs 69 crore has been
earmarked for it in this year’s budget,” he said.
Out of 8.50 lakh families in the northeastern state, around 4.75 lakh
families are not covered under Ayushman Bharat, a medical
insurance scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Mukhya Mantri Jana Agroya Yojana will provide medical
insurance to 4.75 lakh left-out families which include government
officials and employees too. (PTI)
