Only 12 medical colleges set up till 2016 in UP, we are opening 30: CM Yogi Adityanath

VARANASI/SIDDHARTHNAGAR: The inauguration of nine new medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh is a genuine tribute to all those who lost their lives because of lack of medical facilities since independence, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday. He said that from 1947 to 2016, only 12 medical colleges were set up in the government sector in Uttar Pradesh, while 30 are opening under the BJP rule.

Lauding the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission launched by the prime minister in Varanasi on Monday, the chief minister said it was a step towards a revamped healthcare infrastructure of the new India. "'The inauguration of the medical colleges by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the real homage to all those who lost their lives because of lack of medical facilities since independence.

"Besides, it will also extend an assurance that there would no longer be any death of innocent or citizens because of lack of treatment,” Adityanath said in Siddharthnagar. Invoking Ramayan, he said that like "Ahilya's wait for Lord Ram got over, the entire region's wait for health facilities has ended today".

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"From 1947 to 2016, only 12 medical colleges were built in the government sector in Uttar Pradesh. "'Today 30 medical colleges are opening in Uttar Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna and the state government has also taken this work forward in some districts with its own resources," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya termed the Health Infrastructure Mission as a big gift for the nation through which every district will get Rs 90 crore to 100 crore for the health infrastructure development. He said the inauguration of nine medical colleges was a historical step that will ensure the best treatment for the masses as well as an opportunity for the youth to become doctors.

These medical colleges will not only serve the present generation but also the future generations, he said, adding the reforms in the health sector depict the changes being made in the country. Giving a big boost to the health infrastructure, the prime minister launched the Rs. 64,000-crore PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission from his parliamentary constituency Varanasi and inaugurated nine medical colleges from Siddharthnagar.

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In Siddharthnagar, Modi elaborated on the importance his government has been attaching to developing the health sector. “When the BJP government was formed in the country in 2014, a mahayagya was started to improve the health facilities of the country. "Many schemes were started under this, but I will always regret that the earlier government here did not support us. It brought politics into development work. The plans of the Centre were not allowed to proceed in Uttar Pradesh,” he said referring to the previous Samajwadi Party government.

The Purvanchal region, whose image was tarnished by the previous governments and which suffered due to encephalitis deaths, is going to give a new light of health to eastern India, he said. He said that due to the construction of these nine medical colleges, new employment opportunities have been created for more than 5,000 doctors and paramedical staff. Along with this, a new path of medical education has also opened for hundreds of youths every year. Modi also saw the photo exhibition and the model of Madhav Prasad Tripathi Medical College Siddharthnagar and visited the photo exhibition, 'Life scene of Buddha and excavated site Kapilvastu - a glimpse'.

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"In Uttar Pradesh, till 2017 there were only 1900 seats in the Government Medical College, whereas, in the double-engine government, more than 1,900 new seats have been increased in the last four years," he said. Modi said, "We will produce more doctors in the next 10 to 12 years than the number of doctors we got in 70 years after independence".

The prime minister said 'One Nation One Exam' has been implemented to relieve the youth from the worry of different entrance exams across the country. This has also saved cost and also reduced the hassle of multiple exams, he said, while also noting that now the option of medical studies has been given in many Indian languages including Hindi. The prime minister also referred to the country administering 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses and said Uttar Pradesh has had a big contribution in this.