Friday, 27 August 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Fourth day of Monsoon session
The issue of Bhagwanpur medical college created pandemonium on the fourth day of Monsoon session of Uttarakhand assembly on Thursday. Agitated over the reply of the health minister Dhan Singh Rawat, the Congress members rushed to the well of the house and registered a vociferous protest. Unable to pacify the agitated Congress members, the speaker Prem Chand Agarwal cut short the question hour and adjourned the house till 12.30 pm. In her question the Bhagwanpur MLA Mamta Rakesh had sought information about the status of the Bhagwanpur medical college in Haridwar district. She said that the former finance minister Prakash Pant in his budget speech of the year 2017-18 had declared that a medical college would be set up in Bhagwanpur. Rakesh said that the state government has now stopped the process of setting up the college.
In his response the medical education minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the state government has started construction of a medical college in Haridwar and a sum of Rs 75 Crore has already been released for it. He said that a Principal for Haridwar medical college has been appointed. The minister said that as per the norms only one medical college can be set up in a district and the college would be set up in Haridwar. The leader of opposition (LoP), Pritam Singh then intervened and asked the minister to clarify the position of Bhagwanpur medical college on which the minister said that the Bhagwanpur medical college can be built under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Not satisfied by the reply of the minister, the Congress members marched to the well of the house. Later talking to the media persons, Mamta Rakesh said that a GO for Bhagwanpur medical college was released by the BJP government and sum of Rs one crore was sanctioned for it but now the government is dithering on the project and insulting both late Prakash Pant and her husband Late Surendra Rakesh.
The LoP Pritam Singh said that the minister’s response that only one medical college is incorrect as a medical college is being set up in Kotdwar despite the fact that there is a medical college in Srinagar which is in Pauri district.
Rakesh and Piran Kalier MLA, Furkan Ahmed sat on a Dharna in the gallery of the assembly after which the chief minister (CM) Pushkar Singh Dhami went to meet them and assured them to look into their issues.
