Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (centre) at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. Picture by Avijit Sarkar

Siliguri, July 20: This trading hub of north Bengal may soon turn out to be the medical hub of the region.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the state government would set up “a centre of medical excellence” in Siliguri to bring the latest in medicine to people of the region.

“People of north Bengal have long been deprived of modern medical treatment backed by the cutting-edge technology. People here need to turn to Calcutta for better treatment and that costs them a lot,” Bhattacharjee said, inaugurating a number of new medical facilities at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital today.

The centre will be a state-of-the-art hospital offering specialised treatment. Similar centres will be set up in Haldia, Asansol and Durgapur.

“We are trying to tie up with private investors to set up these centres in four places,” he said.

Bhattacharjee, returning from his two-day trips to the landslide-hit Mirik and Darjeeling, laid the foundation stone for a super-specialised cardiology, neurology and nephrology department at the medical college.

The hospital is now equipped with a CT scan unit, a blood component separation unit, a central sterilisation service unit and an adolescent friendly clinic.

The chief minister also announced the introduction of new post-graduate courses on anaesthesiology, anatomy, pathology, community medicine, pharmacology and microbiology at the medical college soon.

He said the Left Front government was “not satisfied” with what it had achieved in the health sector. “We are still lagging behind.”

But at the same time, he said West Bengal was the only state in the country, where 70 to 80 per cent of the people had access to free healthcare.

Bhattacharjee said the state government needs funds to deal with the problems of nutrition, sanitation and drinking water.

“We are already holding talks with the World Bank in this regard,” he said.

Denying that north Bengal was neglected, the chief minister said his government did not discriminate against any region.

“In fact, panchayats in north Bengal get more funds than those in south Bengal,” he said.

Uttar Banga Unnayan Parshad was working for development of the six districts in the region. The parishad also part-funded some of the facilities installed in the medical college.

Referring to the recent Sino-Indian agreement on reopening the trade route to Tibet via Nathu-la, Bhattacharjee stressed the need to build basic infrastructure in Siliguri to support the expected jump in trade and commerce in the region.

“Siliguri will now have greater importance. Appropriate infrastructure should be developed here so it can take advantage of the situation,” said Bhattacharjee. He said that the increased economic activities in Siliguri would benefit the state as well.

Before coming to Siliguri, the chief minister discussed the deteriorating law and order in Darjeeling with Opposition parties.

When he arrived at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Bhattacharjee was 45 minutes behind schedule. He cut short his visit to catch the flight back to Calcutta.