Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday ceremonially inaugurated the newly-constructed Gohpur Sub-Divisional Civil Hospital, located at the historic Gohpur town in Biswanath district.
This state-of-the-art hospital, with a total build-up area of 5,029 square meters, has been built at an approximate cost of Rs 18 crore. Equipped with facilities such as accident and emergency ward, X-ray room, gynaecological ward, post-natal ward, intensive care unit, to name a few, the Gohpur Sub-Divisional Civil Hospital is spread across four storeys, with the ground floor having an area of 1,267 square meters and the rest of the three floors consisting of 1,254 square meters each.
Dedicating the Gohpur Civil Hospital to the service of the people on the anniversary of martyrdom of Kanaklata Baruah and Mukunda Kakati, the chief minister remembered the martyred duo for their exemplary display of courage and valour against colonial rule during Gandhi’s call for “do or die”.
Stating that improvement in the healthcare services of the state has always been a focus area of the government, CM Sarma drew a comparison between the number of medical colleges now with that a few years back.
“From just 3 medical colleges earlier, the state can now boast of 9 medical colleges,” the chief minister said. He further exuded confidence that the upcoming medical college at Biswanath district should become functional by 2026. With the medical colleges at Tezpur and Lakhimpur already functional and the ones at Biswanath and Dhemaji under various stages of construction, all the four districts of the north bank will have a medical college each, he added. This, he said, would be a step towards addressing the long-standing grievances of being subjected to “step-motherly treatment” by the residents of the northern bank.
Further, the chief minister further declared that steps will be taken to ensure the public can visit the historic Gohpur Police Station, where Kanaklata Baruah and Mukunda Kakati achieved martyrdom on September 20, 1942, and pay homage to the martyr duo.
Inauguration of Ghahigaon Sports Stadium
The chief minister on Tuesday inaugurated the Ghahigaon Sports Stadium, constructed at a cost of Rs 10 crore and foundation stone for which was laid on March 10, 2019 by CM Sarma himself during his tenure as a cabinet minister in the government of Assam. Stating that sports is a medium through which the prestige of the nation can be raised to a higher pedestal, the chief minister urged the youths of Gohpur to utilise the opportunities available at the Ghahigaon facility. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of “Khelogey toh Khiliogey” (You bloom when you play), the chief minister exuded confidence the latest addition to sporting infrastructure would enable many youths from Assam to shine at national and international sporting events in future. The chief minister also announced an additional grant of Rs 15 crore for further infrastructure upgradation of the Ghahigaon sports stadium.
The chief minister was on Tuesday accompanied by Health minister Keshab Mahanta, Member of Parliament from Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency Pallab Lochan Das, legislators of Assam Assembly Utpal Bora, Ranjit Kumar Dutta, Pramod Borthakur, Amiya Kumar Bhuyan, along with a host of other dignitaries.
