Oct. 25: Forty-five years after it was born, the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) is going to set up an auditorium, finally.

It is a must for any public hospital to have an auditorium, if it is to be recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

But it is surprising how the GMCH, the largest hospital in the Northeast, could get away without an auditorium for the past four decades.

Many important functions could not be held at the GMCH in the recent past since it does not have an auditorium.

Sources said the hospital has realised that there has been an inordinate delay and is facing the threat of derecognition. So the hospital management society has finally decided to set up a state-of-the-art auditorium within a couple of years.

Rajya Sabha MP and hospital management society chairman Dwijen Sarma has already announced an amount of Rs 1 crore from his MP local area development fund to set up the auditorium.

The total cost of an auditorium, if built in accordance with the guidelines of the MCI, comes to around Rs 5 crore. Sources said the GMCH would approach the government to release the rest of the amount for the auditorium.

The public works department (PWD) has been asked to chalk out the blueprint for the proposed auditorium at an early date.

The auditorium will have all modern facilities and equipment to enable doctors and staff to hold large events. The proposed 1,000-seat capacity auditorium will have video conferencing facilities.

The hospital management society has also decided to set up an open-air theatre at the large vacant plot, popularly known as Pearl Valley, within the GMCH campus.

Sarma has extended another Rs 4 lakh for the open-air theatre.