Khattar declares Jan 22 as ‘dry day’, lays foundation stone of Medical College

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar declared January 22 as ‘dry day’ on occasion of the inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Haryana is the seventh BJP-state to put a ban on sale of liquor on the day of ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Other BJP states that have made such an announcement are Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam.

Khattar laid the foundation stone of the Medical College and Hospital on Monday, to be built on 30 acres of land in Panchkula at a cost of Rs 800 crore.

The chief minister informed that the new Medical College and Hospital to be constructed by Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikarn (HSVP) would be named after Mangal Sen. The initial phase will involve an expenditure of Rs 500 crore, with an anticipated additional expenditure of Rs 300 crore. The entire project is slated to be completed within 30 months. It will have 100 MBBS seats.

Khattar stated that in 2014, the state had only six medical colleges. This count increased to 12 between 2014 and 2019, further reaching 15 from 2019 to the present. With the completion of all, the medical college count will rise to 29 in the future. Upon the completion of all medical colleges, the total number of MBBS seats in the state will reach 3,500, he added.