Bathinda (NVI): OPD services were started at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here in Punjab which will provide world class subsidised healthcare in the government sector to the people of the Malwa region for the first time since independence.
While inaugurating the facility, Union Health Minister Harshvardhan said work was underway on 22 AIIMS in the country and six had been completed.
Besides this, 157 new Medical Colleges are coming up in the country and are in various stages of completion, he said.
Services are also being upgraded in the Patiala and Faridkot Medical Colleges in Punjab, he added.
Describing the start of AIIMS, Bathinda, as one of the most important events of her life, Akali Dal leader and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Punjabis are now assured of world class medical facilities and specialised treatment for deadly diseases like cancer and hepatitis.
“I am sure with the establishment of AIIMS, Bathinda, the Cancer Express, which used to ferry patients from here to Bikaner, will be a thing of the past,” she said.
Speaking about the project, Badal said she was thankful to former Finance Minister Arun Jaitely who “first planted the seed of the institute and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister S Parkash Singh Badal who nurtured it. “
She also recounted how she had to strive to get all requisite permissions to ensure it was among the first functioning new AIIMS in the country.
She also said that the city would receive a tremendous boost with the start of the AIIMS institute. Earlier Atal Behari Vajpayee gave us the Bathinda refinery. Sardar Badal brought in the Central University.
“Now AIIMS has taken ground. I am sure this mix of industry, education and health land marks will also boost the economy of the city,” she added.
