Development of school education, higher education, health, electricity, water-supply, roads, irrigation, industries and agriculture-related facilities in tribal populated areas of Chhattisgarh including Bastar has always been the top-priority of state government” said Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh while addressing a huge public gathering at lalbag Parade Maidan on Thursday, after inauguration of the buildings worth nearly Rs 50 crore, constructed in the first phase of Bastar Medical College campus at village Dimrapal near Jagdalpur.
In the inaugural programme, Dr Singh said that this medical college will not only become an identity of medical education in Bastar region but will rather emerge as an ideal medical college of Chhattisgarh, glorifying the name of the state at national and international level. As per the announcement made by Dr Singh during Vikas Yatra, this medical college has been named after the popular tribal leader of Bastar region and former MP late Shri Baliram Kashyap.
Amidst the mild showers, Chief Minister showered the gifts of development works and schemes for the people of Bastar district . In the upcoming years, Chhattisgarh will witness four times the development it has undergone till now, said CM Singh on the occasion.
In the programme, CM inaugurated and laid foundation of various construction works worth more than Rs 261 crores for development of Bastar district. This includes inauguration of 83 completed construction works worth Rs 253 crores, and foundation laying of various construction works worth nearly Rs 8.36 crores. At the public gathering, Chief Minister commenced the distribution of goods and incentives to nearly 15,000 beneficiaries, under various schemes of state government. This includes distribution of free computer tablets to about 250 students under Chhattisgarh Yuva Soochna Kranti Yojana. Moreover, He also gave away free solar lamps to about 10,676 beneficiaries, under another important scheme of state government. Besides, other 3500 beneficiaries were also distributed goods and incentives at hands of Chief Minister.
Five years back, CM Singh had performed bhumi-pujan for construction of this medical college campus on August 9, 2008, and on Thursday , i.e. October 3, 2013, he is the one to inaugurate this campus. On the occasion, Tribal Caste and Scheduled Caste Development Minister Kedar Kashyap, Bastar and Southern Area Development Authority Deputy Chairman and MlA Baiduram Kashyap, MlA Santosh Bafna and other
public representatives were also present.
As a Chief Guest of the occasion, Dr Raman Singh said that this medical college will become an important centre of medical education and research in Bastar region. Chief Minister said that the policies and schemes of State Government have brought about positive and promising changes in the scenario of this tribal area of Chhattisgarh. Over the years, confidence of public on state government has only strengthened with time. Seven years back, a big dream of people in Bastar came true, when state government established the medical college there, in year 2006. And , this spacious campus of medical college, situated in village Dimrapal near Jagdalpur, has been inaugurated at hands of Chief Minister.
CM Dr Singh said that state government had formed Bastar and Surguja Development Authorities in year 2004 with an objective to ensure drastic development of the areas through extensive public participation and immediate decision on the proposals of local representatives. In last 10 years, these development authorities have effectively deliberated development works worth crores, and in this way the experiment by state government has yielded 100% successful results.
This medical college of Bastar is also a contribution of the tribal development authority formed over here. Decision to open this government medical college was taken after a prolonged discussion in the meeting of the development authority convened on August 29, 2004. Complying with the decision, all the necessary procedures were completed. 50 students were given admission in the first batch of MBBS course and then from August 28, 2006 the medical college was started.
“It is an honour for me to inaugurate this new campus of medical college , for which I had performed bhumi-pujan five years back on August 9, 2008” said Dr Singh on the occasion.
Dr Singh congratulated students and professors of the medical college and also people of Bastar region on inauguration of the new campus of the medical college. In this programme, Chief Minister also inaugurated the buildings constructed at the cost of Rs50 crores, in the first phase of Government allopathic medical college in Bastar.
This includes magnificent college building worth Rs 20 crores, along with the hostel building and residential quarters for professors, junior-senior doctors, officers and employees, constructed at cost of nearly Rs30 crores. In Jagdalpur Medical College campus, construction of 5-storey hospital building of capacity 700-bed is underway on war-footing. Four storeys of this hospital building have been already completed while the construction of fifth one is nearing completion.
The estimated cost of this entire project of constructing various buildings in medical college campus is nearly 196 crores. In the duration of less than a month, Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh has presented three medical colleges to the people of Chhattisgarh. About a fortnight back on September 18, Chief Minister inaugurated the huge building of state’s fifth allopathic medical college in Raigarh, which was constructed at the cost of Rs106.35 crores. Only 12 days back i.e. on September 21, CM had laid the foundation stone of state’s sixth allopathic medical college building, which is to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs300 crores over an area of 25 acres in District Headquarters of Rajnandgaon.