Patna: A 100-bed Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital in Bihta, around 40km southwest of Patna, will become functional on July 7, Union minister of labour and employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar said on Tuesday.

Gangwar was on a day's visit to the state during which he visited the upcoming hospital in Bihta and also the site of the ESIC hospital that has to come up at Phulwarisharif on the southern fringe of Patna.

At the Bihta facility, a medical college too has been constructed along with the hospital at a cost of Rs 600 crore but it would be made functional only after meeting the norms, which say that a medical college must have a 300-bed hospital attached to it.

The Union minister said as soon as the flow of patients increases at the Bihta facility necessary steps would be taken to upgrade the hospital to the one having 300 beds and then the necessary permission for running the medical college would be completed.

On the commencement of actual work at the ESIC hospital in Phulwarisharif, the foundation stone of which had been laid around a year back, the minister said there were a few technical issues which had now been resolved.

"The construction work would commence on July 7 and the work would be completed in 18 months."

The Phulwarisharif hospital will have 50 beds and the facility is being set up at a cost of Rs 80 crore.

The labour ministry has also agreed to open ESIC dispensaries in Lakhisarai and Barh. Gangwar said state labour resources minister Vijay Kumar Sinha had requested dispensaries at these places after which the decision was taken.

On employment generation in the country, Gangwar said his ministry would come out with a detailed data in August this year.

During his visit to Bihta and Phulwarisharif, Gangwar was accompanied by junior Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and Sinha.