PM Modi to lay foundations for projects worth over Rs. 3,650 cr in Himachal Pradesh

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Himachal Pradesh on October 5, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for a host of projects worth over Rs. 3,650 crore.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bilaspur and participate in the famous Kullu Dussehra celebrations during his visit.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that Prime Minister Modi's vision and commitment to strengthening health services across the country is being showcased again with the inauguration of AIIMS, Bilaspur.

Mr Modi had laid the hospital's foundation stone in October 2017 and it has been established under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, the statement said.

AIIMS, Bilaspur, constructed at a cost of more than Rs. 1,470 crore, is a state-of-the-art hospital with 18 speciality and 17 super-speciality departments, 18 modular operation theatres and 750 beds, including 64 ICU beds.

Spread over 247 acres, the hospital is equipped with 24-hour emergency and dialysis facilities, and modern diagnostic machines such as ultrasonography, CT scan and MRI among others. It also has a Jan Aushadhi Kendra and a 30-bed Ayush block.

The hospital has also set up a Centre for Digital Health to provide health services in tribal and inaccessible areas of the state.

Also, specialist health services will be provided by the hospital through health camps in the inaccessible tribal and high Himalayan regions such as Kaza, Saluni, and Keylong. The hospital will admit 100 students for MBBS and 60 students for nursing courses every year.

Among other development projects, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for a 31-km-long project for four laning of NH-105 from Pinjore to Nalagarh, worth over Rs. 1,690 crore.

He will also lay the foundation stone for Medical Device Park at Nalagarh, which will be built at a cost of around Rs. 350 crore.

The statement said, "Noting that the International Kullu Dussehra Festival will be celebrated from October 5 to 11 at Dhalpur Ground in Kullu, the event is unique in the sense that it is the congregation of worshippers of more than 300 deities of the valley."

"It will be the first time that the Prime Minister will participate in the celebrations," the statement added.