On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the first AIIMS in the Northeast, AIIMS Guwahati, to the nation, which was built at a cost of Rs 1,123 crore. The new super-specialty hospital will provide healthcare services to people not only in Assam but also in other northeastern states.

Additionally, he inaugurated three medical colleges located in Nalbari, Nagaon, and Kokrajhar through virtual means. These medical colleges are equipped with 500-bed tertiary care teaching hospitals that have 24 undergraduate departments.

Initially, the three medical colleges will intake 100 annual MBBS students, taking the total MBBS student intake to 1500 in Assam.

The PM launched the distribution of 1.1 crore Ayushman cards to beneficiaries, which will enable them to receive cashless medical treatment benefits up to Rs five lakh.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation for the Assam Advanced Healthcare Innovation Institute (AAHII), which is a joint initiative of the state government and IIT Guwahati and is worth Rs 546 crore.

Later on, he rolled out a series of railway projects across the Northeast, besides commissioning a methanol plant and laying the foundation stone for a bridge over the Brahmaputra river.

The new railway projects rolled out by him are Digaru-Lumding and Gauripur-Abhayapuri sections, while the doubling of tracks between New Bongaigaon and Dhup Dhara was also inaugurated. Electrification of the Raninagar-Jalpaiguri-Guwahati, Senchoa-Silghat and Senchoa-Mairabari sections was also launched by Modi. The total cost of these projects is Rs 7,300 crore.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Palasbari-Sualkuchi bridge over the Brahmaputra River. It will be constructed at an expenditure of Rs 3,200 crore over the next 3-4 years. The state government has already received environmental and other clearances from various agencies for starting the construction work.

Modi also virtually commissioned a methanol plant at Namrup in Dibrugarh by Assam Petrochemicals Ltd (APL) with 500 tonnes per day (TPD) capacity, constructed at an investment of Rs 1,709 crore. In this plant, the Assam government has a 51 percent stake and 49 percent is held by Oil India. After commissioning, APL will be able to sell methanol to other states as well as export to neighbouring countries.

The fourth project launched by Modi is the Rs 124-crore beautification work of the 'Rang Ghar', an amphitheater built by Ahom King Pramatta Singha in the 18th century. This two-storied oval-shaped pavilion in Sivasagar is one of the largest of its kind in Asia.

Image courtesy: Twitter