Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his first visit to the State after the formation of a new Government in Dispur, dedicated to the nation seven new cancer hospitals in Assam at a function in Dibrugarh on April 28. He said that these hospitals in Assam will augment health care capacities in the North East as well as the South Asian region. Built in Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Darrang, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, and Jorhat, these hospitals have already started witnessing the flow of patients. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of seven new cancer hospitals at Dhubri, Nalbari, Goalpara, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Tinsukia and Golaghat to be constructed under Phase 2 of the project.
Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union ministers Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal and Mr. Rameswar Teli, parliamentarian Mr. Ranjan Gogoi and industrialist Mr. Ratan Tata were among those present on the occasion.
Acknowledging that cancer has been a big problem not only in Assam but also in the North East, Mr. Modi conceded that the poor and the middle class are affected most by the disease.
The Prime Minister complimented the Assam Chief Minister and the Tata Trusts for addressing this long pending problem in Assam. The Prime Minister said that this year’s Budget has earmarked Rs 1500 crore scheme called Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East (PM-DeVINE) under which cancer treatment is a focus area. He said that his Government was addressing the shortfall in the number of doctors in the country. In the last seven years, more than 70 thousand new seats have been added for MBBS and PG courses. “Our Government has made more than five lakh Ayush doctors equivalent to allopathic doctors,” he said. The Prime Minister said that the exorbitant cost of cancer treatment was a big barrier in the minds of people. Women, in particular, avoided treatment as it has the potential of pushing families into debt and penury. He said that his Government is making cancer drugs affordable by reducing the cost of many a medicine to almost half, which will save hundreds of crores of people’s savings.
The Prime Minister appreciated the Assam Government for improving medical infrastructure in the State. “The Chief Minister and his team are working admirably to implement the national pledge of a medical college in every district”, Mr. Modi said. The hospitals are being constructed under Assam Cancer Care Foundation, a joint venture of Government of Assam and Tata Trusts.
