Guwahati, Sept 20 : Assam is set to receive a bonanza on the education front, with the center announcing plans to fund the creation of three medical colleges.

In India, it has always been felt that development has to be holistic, as only then the country will achieve a double-digit growth rate.

Keeping this in mind, Prime Minster Manmohan Singh, during his recent visit to the state, proposed a mega developmental package for Assam, which included a rupees 
160 crore medical college for Jorhat.

The hospital will be the first of its kind in Upper Assam.

The other two proposed medical colleges are to come up in the state’s Barpeta and Tezpur Districts.

Land donors for the upcoming medical college consider this step as a major milestone in solving the problems of education and unemployment in the region. 

D. Dimbeswar, a land donor in Jorhat, said, "Because of the medical college, students will come here. Those who are unemployed will also find job opportunities resulting in the solution to their problems. In the process the area will get developed."

The hospital cum medical college in Jorhat will have a capacity of 500 beds. It would also have an integrated residential campus for 1487 individuals, including students and staff.

"The medical college in Jorhat would prove to be very useful to us. We are happy, as we will get an opportunity to study here. Also many problems dwelling in the region will be solved, " said Rajesh Goswami, a student from Jorhat. 

Bhaba Goswami, a local resident of Jorhat, said the medical college was in the greater interest of the society.

"Undoubtedly, it will fulfill the greater need of the region, especially in Sivasagar District, Golaghat District, Majuli and also for Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. This region is mostly inhabited by the poor and we hope that all would be benefited," he said.

The proposed developmental projects are a world-class university, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology and a National Institute of Design. All of these projects will not only benefit Assam, but also other north-eastern states. (ANI)