Chief minister Tarun Gogoi lays the foundation stone of the civil hospital at Amingaon in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Nov. 10: Dispur has decided to set up a 200-bed civil hospital at Amingaon within two years to ease the burden of patients on the two premier government hospitals of the city — the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH).

The civil hospital will come up at a cost of Rs 20 crore.

“The Tolaram Bafna Civil Hospital will be situated on the national highway and therefore, easily accessible. It will be ready in two years’ time. Once complete, it will help reduce the rush of patients at the two city hospitals,” health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said during the foundation stone laying function this afternoon. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi was the chief guest at the function.

The Tolaram Bafna Memorial Trust has donated the land for the hospital. The project is being funded under the National Rural Health Mission.

The new hospital will be equipped with modern facilities and have its own trauma centre. It will also recruit 200 staff.

The hospital is being built under the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). These are envisaged to improve the quality of healthcare in the country under the National Rural Health Mission.

The IPHS standards for district hospital states that it should provide comprehensive secondary healthcare (specialist and referral services) to the community through district hospitals.

The new hospital is part of government’s plan to upgrade healthcare facilities in Lower Assam. “The health infrastructure in Lower Assam is being upgraded either by setting up new hospitals in the districts or by upgrading the existing ones,” Sarma added.

He hoped that soon the state would emerge as one of the leaders in the country in the healthcare sector.

The chief minister thanked the Tolaram Bafna Memorial Trust for donating the plot of land and asked the others to emulate the example. The government is giving top priority to the healthcare sector, he added.

Kamrup deputy commissioner R.C. Jain sought the co-operation of one and all for completing the hospital in time.