Previous govts cared little for healthcare: PM

Modi inaugurates 9 medical colleges in UP, dedicates projects worth over ₹5,200 crore for Varanasi

VARANASI/LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the previous governments of dragging their feet on healthcare as he launched a nationwide ₹64,000crore medical infrastructure mission and nine new medical colleges during his visit to Varanasi and Siddharthnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

“All this work should have been done decades ago,” he said in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, where he inaugurated the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission meant to plug gaps in the healthcare system.

He said the mission will also prepare the country to fight future pandemics.

The PM inaugurated various development projects worth more than ₹5,200 crore for his constituency, while addressing a public rally in Varanasi.

Earlier in the day, Modi inaugurated nine medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh (built at a cost of Rs 2,329 crore) virtually from Siddharthnagar.

Altogether, projects worth around ₹75,000 crore had been launched in UP on Monday, he said.

“Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission has been launched to give strength to the health infrastructure of the country, including UP, so that there are high level preparations to prevent and deal with future pandemics. This also aims at bringing self-confidence and self-reliance in our health system,” said Modi.

He said good health was considered the basis of every action and therefore investment to make the body healthy was always considered good.

“No other place could be better than Kashi for launching the mission as it is the abode of

Lord Shiva and Shakti,” he said.

“After independence, for a long period, health facilities, infrastructure were not given much attention. The previous governments deprived the country’s healthcare system of facilities for a long time,“alleged Modi.

Modi said villages lacked hospitals while hospitals at block level lacked testing facilities and district hospitals didn’t have facilities for treatment of serious diseases. “In big hospitals, there were long queues and