Minister for minority welfare and information technology Shahid Ali Khan (left) lays the foundation stone of the 750-bed Shershah Institute of Medical Science at the Banbag area in Purnea on Thursday, around 350km northeast of the capital. The hospital would benefit patients from Bihar, Bengal and Nepal. Khan said: “Around 53,000 students used to migrate from Bihar to other states for technical education under different streams, including medical and engineering. A medical college is a long-felt need of the district. This institute will definitely open new avenues in the field of education and health.” The hospital would start operations by September this year. Text by Jitendra Kumar Shrivastava, picture by Mukesh Kumar Jha