Darjeeling MP Raju Bista on Thursday demanded in the Parliament that the Centre set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Siliguri.
“Today, I raised an urgent issue in Parliament, under Rule 377 regarding the critical need for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in north Bengal,” read a statement from the BJP MP.
Bista said north Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur with a combined population of 2.5 crore “suffer from acute shortage of healthcare services”.
“The government-run hospitals in this region are underfunded, inadequately staffed, and lack even basic medical equipment and facilities,” said the MP.
Bista told the Lok Sabha that a majority of people in north Bengal worked in tea gardens or engaged in farming for livelihood.
“Due to low income, people here cannot afford treatment in private hospitals. Additionally, traveling to distant cities for healthcare is simply not an option for most residents due to financial constraints,” said Bista.
The MP said Siliguri would be the ideal location for the AIIMS as the institution would cater for eastern Bihar, Sikkim and lower Assam.
“I further recommended Siliguri as the ideal location for AIIMS North Bengal, as Siliguri is centrally located and lies in the heart of North Bengal. It is well-connected by air, rail, and road, making it easily accessible for people from across the region,” said Bista.
In 2009, the UPA government at the Centre announced that an AIIMS-standard hospital would be established in North Dinajpur. The central government also said ₹823 crore would be spent on the hospital which would have around 960 beds.
The state government identified a plot at Panishala, 6km from Raiganj, to set up the AIIMS clone.
However, when the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011, the project suffered a setback and eventually, the state provided land at Kalyani in Nadia district where the AIIMS came up.
Recently Raiganj BJP MP Kartick Chandra Paul wrote to chief minister Mamata Banerjee seeking cooperation to establish a hospital of the standards of AIIMS in Raiganj.
