More than 4,200 posts vacant in Assam medical colleges and hospitals: Minister

Guwahati, Jul 10 (PTI) More than 28 per cent of sanctioned posts in various categories are lying vacant in Assam's government medical colleges and hospitals, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ashok Singhal informed the Assembly on Friday. Replying to a question by Congress MLA Baby Begum, Singhal said the state has 14 government medical colleges and hospitals with a total of 14,754 sanctioned posts, of which 4,232 are vacant. Replying to another question by Congress MLA Asif Mohammad Nazar, the minister said the vacancies include 297 posts of professors, associate professors and assistant professors. Responding to a question by BJP MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Singhal said the medical colleges and hospitals collectively cater to 15,205 patients every day. The Gauhati Medical College and Hospital attends to 3,246 patients daily, while the Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh caters to around 1,800 patients and the Silchar Medical College and Hospital to about 1,500 patients a day, he said. The medical colleges and hospitals at Jorhat, Barpeta and Dhubri cater to more than 1,000 patients on a daily basis, Singhal said. Replying to another query by Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed, Singhal said the annual student intake capacity of the 14 medical colleges in the state is 1,825, with the oldest two institutions, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital and Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh, enrolling the highest number of 250 students each year. Singhal further said construction of 10 more medical colleges and hospitals is underway, with those at Bongaigaon, Biswanath and Charaideo expected to be completed soon. PTI SSG SSG MNB