NORTH-East continues to lag behind rest of India in terms of availability of basic facilities even after 53 years of independence. People travel to other parts of India for medicaltreatment and higher education.

In an effort to meet the long-standing demand of the people of the region, Shillong will soon have a 500-bed super speciality hospital. Expected to come up at an estimated cost of Rs 423 crore, the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) is under construction at Maw Diang Diang, about seven kilometres from the Meghalaya capital. Spread on an area of 273 acres of prime land, the referral hospital is cent per cent centrally-funded and its first phase will be commissioned by March 2004, sources said.

About Rs 200 crore is being spent on constructing the hospital buildings. The entire project is likely to be completed by 2005. The engineering work has been completed and the first 300 beds will be available by March 2004, the sources said.

NEIGRIHMS will offer an heli-ambulance facility to airlift critically-ill patients from anywhere in the North-East for treatment. Patients from Bangladesh will also benefit from the hospital.

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