AIIMS Gorakhpur stands tall as symbol of top-tier medical care and transformative governance

GORAKHPUR: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here has fast emerged as the dream destination for medical services across eastern Uttar Pradesh, neighbouring Bihar and even the bordering regions of Nepal, a statement issued on Sunday said.

What was once a distant hope has now become a healthcare reality thanks to a movement led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his tenure as a Member of Parliament, the Uttar Pradesh government said in the statement. Gorakhpur's AIIMS today stands tall as a symbol of top-tier medical care and transformative governance, it added.

The institute is set to host its first-ever convocation ceremony on Monday, marking a significant milestone in its journey. President Droupadi Murmu will grace the occasion as the chief guest and award medals to meritorious students from the institute's first graduating batch, delivering a keynote address to inspire the budding medical professionals.

The journey to establish the AIIMS in Gorakhpur was a long and determined one. For nearly a decade and a half, the demand for such an institution echoed throughout the region. It gained momentum in 2004 under the leadership of then-MP Adityanath, who led sustained public campaigns and raised the issue both in Parliament and on the streets, advocating for better healthcare facilities in the region.

This persistent advocacy bore fruit when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014 and fulfilled the long-standing public demand. On July 22, 2016, the prime minister laid the foundation stone for the AIIMS, Gorakhpur, under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.

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The project received a major boost in 2017 when Adityanath became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, swiftly resolving all construction-related hurdles. In a notable pre-inauguration milestone, the Out Patient Department (OPD) of the AIIMS was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on February 24, 2019.

The full-fledged institution was officially inaugurated on December 7, 2021 by the prime minister, marking a new chapter in the region's healthcare narrative. The AIIMS, Gorakhpur, has in the last four years become a lifeline for nearly five crore people in eastern UP, bordering Bihar and parts of Nepal.

Once plagued by backwardness and limited healthcare options, the region has seen a dramatic turnaround. Until a few years ago, BRD Medical College here was the sole beacon of hope for people of the Gorakhpur-Basti division, burdened far beyond its capacity. Those challenges have today become part of the past.

Since 2017, healthcare in eastern Uttar Pradesh has witnessed an almost unimaginable transformation. The region now boasts of seven medical colleges, including five government institutions in Gorakhpur, Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti and Siddharthnagar, one under a PPP model in Maharajganj and a private medical college under Mahayogi Gorakhnath University. Under Adityanath's visionary leadership, eastern Uttar Pradesh is now firmly on the map as a rising medical hub of India, the statement said.