Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated nine medical colleges in Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.

The nine medical colleges will come up in Siddharthnagar, Etah, Hardoi, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Deoria, Ghazipur, Mirzapur and Jaunpur, according to a note from Prime Minister Office here.

Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister said, “Purvanchal in Uttar Pradesh previously maligned for meningitis will give a new light of health to Eastern India.”

“The dedication of so many medical colleges is unprecedented in the state. This did not happen earlier and why it is happening now, there is only one reason – political will and political priority,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister sought to underline that the double engine government of Uttar Pradesh had been responsible for increasing medical seats in the State.

“Till 2017 there were only 1900 medical seats in government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh. The Double Engine government has added more than 1900 seats in just the last four years,” the Prime Minister pointed out.

The Prime Minister said to name the new medical college of Siddharthnagar after Late Madhav Prasad Tripathi is a true tribute to his service. The name of Madhav Babu will continue to give inspiration for public service to the young doctors coming out of the college, he said adding, “The name of Madhav Prasad Tripathi will continue to give inspiration for public service to the young doctors coming out of the medical college.”

The Prime Minister said with the creation of nine new medical colleges, about two and a half thousand new beds have been created, new employment opportunities have been created for more than 5 thousand doctors and paramedics. “With this, a new path of medical education has been opened for hundreds of youth every year”, he said.

The Prime Minister said Purvanchal’s image was spoiled by the previous governments because of the tragic deaths due to meningitis. The same Purvanchal, the same Uttar Pradesh is going to give a new light of health to eastern India, Shri Modi remarked.

Mosi recalled the episode in Parliament where current Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, as the Member of Parliament, had narrated the agony of the poor medical system of the state in the Parliament.

The Prime Minister said, “Today, the people of Uttar Pradesh are seeing that Yogi ji, given a chance to serve by the people, has stopped the progress of encephalitis and saved the lives of thousands of children of this area. “When the government is sensitive, there is a sense of compassion in the mind to understand the pain of the poor, then such accomplishments happen”, the Prime Minister remarked.

The Prime Minister said that the dedication of so many medical colleges is unprecedented in the state. “This did not happen earlier and why it is happening now, there is only one reason – political will and political priority” emphasized the Prime Minister.

PM Modi explained that previous governments in Delhi seven years ago and the government in Uttar Pradesh four years ago, used to work for votes and used to get satisfied just by announcing some dispensary or some small hospital for votes consideration. He said for a long time, either the building was not built, if there was a building, there were no machines, if both were done, there would be no doctors and other staff. The cycle of corruption, which looted thousands of crores of rupees from the poor, used to relentlessly run round the clock.

“Before 2014, the medical seats in our country were less than 90,000. In the last 7 years, 60,000 new medical seats have been added in the country. Here in Uttar Pradesh too, till 2017 there were only 1900 medical seats in government medical colleges. Whereas in the government of double engine, more than 1900 seats have been increased in just the last four years,” the Prime Minister further added.