Previous govts left 'Purvanchal' people to suffer, says PM Modi as he inaugurates 9 medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the previous governments had left people of 'Purvanchal' to suffer from diseases. The remarks came as PM Modi inaugurated nine medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh virtually from Siddharthnagar in presence of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh will now become a medical hub of Northern India, PM Modi said, as he added, "Earlier, Purvanchal's image was ruined by previous governments, it was defamed because of 'dimagi' fever. The same region will now infuse new hopes."

The colleges are located in Siddharthnagar, Etah, Hardoi, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Deoria, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, and Jaunpur districts and have been built at a cost of Rs 2,329 crore.

The PM said, "With the creation of nine new medical colleges, about two and a half thousand new beds have been created, new employment opportunities have been created. Purvanchal will now be the new medical hub of the country."

"People had to rush to big cities for treatment, but with the new medical colleges, those days will be over."

The central government has sanctioned eight medical colleges under a Centrally sponsored scheme for the establishment of new medical colleges attached with district or referral hospitals. Meanwhile, the medical colleges at Jaunpur have been made functional by the state government through its own resources.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said, "Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, preference is given to underserved, backward and aspirational districts. The Scheme aims to increase the availability of health professionals, correct the existing geographical imbalance in the distribution of medical colleges and effectively utilize the existing infrastructure of district hospitals. Under three phases of the Scheme, 157 new medical colleges have been approved across the nation, out of which 63 medical colleges are already functional."