Siddharthnagar (Uttar Pradesh): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday began his speech in the Bhojpuri language at the inauguration of nine medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh, which is due to go to Assembly polls early next year.
"Nine medical colleges are being inaugurated from the land where Mahatma Buddha spent many years of his life. It is a big step towards fulfilling the dreams of a healthy India. I congratulate everyone present here," said PM Modi in Bhojpuri at the inauguration programme in Siddharthnagar.
The nine medical colleges are situated in the districts of Siddharthnagar, Etah, Hardoi, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Deoria, Ghazipur, Mirzapur and Jaunpur.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya were also present at the event.
"From 1947-2016, only 12 government medical colleges were there in the state but now under PM Modi's leadership, 30 medical colleges will be opened. Out of 30, MBBS classes have started in 7 colleges, and today we are inaugurating 9 more; 14 more in future," Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said in the event.
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.
