CM inaugurates new OPD block at Aruna Asaf Ali Hosp

New Delhi: If one imagines ‘Ram Rajya’, it should have good and free education and healthcare for all, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday and announced a major expansion plan for health infrastructure in the city.

Addressing a gathering at an event here, he also said that everybody should have access to good education and healthcare and the AAP-led Delhi government is trying to work in that direction.

He inaugurated a new OPD building of the Delhi government-run Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital on Saturday and also interacted with the patients there.

Healthcare and education are the focus areas of the Delhi government and expansion is going on in a major way, he said, adding that there are currently around 10,000 beds at all city government-run hospitals put together.

Eleven new hospitals are being built and the infrastructure of old facilities is being upgraded, he said, adding 16,000 new beds will be added.

Referring to the upcoming Dussehra and Diwali festivals, the Delhi chief minister said, “We worship Lord Ram.”

‘Ram Rajya is being spoken of. I cannot say that we can reach near ‘Ram Rajya’. But if we imagine ‘Ram Rajya’, it should have good and free education and good and free healthcare for all,’ Kejriwal said.

Good education and healthcare should be there for all, whether rich or poor, and “our government is trying to work in that direction”, he added. Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, local MLA Parlad Singh Sawhney and senior officials of the health department were also present on the occasion. Kejriwal, in his address, also that said building of new hospitals and augmenting of infrastructure and facilities at existing hospitals will align Delhi’s health system with international standards and the WHO’s parameters.

The Delhi government has spent approximately Rs 22.8 crore to construct the three-storey new OPD block at Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, apart from the ground floor.

The block houses 25 consultation rooms, two elevators, and two staircases. It took nearly a year to complete this construction, the chief minister’s office (CMO) later said in a statement.