The foundation stone of a new medical college in Guwahati was laid by Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Monday, February 14. This college will be constructed at the cost of nearly Rs 1,000 crore covering an area of 20 acres.

The new medical college in the capital city of Assam will be called Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital and will have a campus at Panbazar and Kalapahar, an official informed ta the function, as reported by PTI. 

Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH), Panbazar and Kalapahar TB Hospital will be upgraded and turned into the two sites of the proposed college. 

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As many as 480 beds, 46 ICUs, seven high-tech operation theatres and accommodation facilities for 450 students and 100 interns will be available at the Kalapahar campus which will provide admissions to 100 MBBS students every year. Similarly, the MMCH campus will have 800 beds, 100 ICUs, 11 OTs, state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities and a dialysis unit, the chief minister informed. 

"The state government is ramping up healthcare infrastructure in the state keeping in view the future demand and by the end of our present government's tenure, Assam will have 14 medical colleges," said the CM. He also shared the possibility that AIIMS at Changsari might be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2022. 

The chief minister also reminded that the state has emerged as one of the top three most improved states in incremental performance as per NITI Aayog's health index for 2019-20. They are striving to make Guwahati a hub of medical tourism in South East Asia, he said and added that infrastructure development is vital for the same.