SHILLONG, Oct 8: Health Minister James PK Sangma has asserted that completion of the Shillong and Tura medical colleges were high on his list of priorities.
“Having taken over charge of Health department I am now taking that agenda forward. I want to prioritise the medical colleges in Shillong ad Tura,” Sangma said.
On the status of the Shillong Medical College, Sangma said that a lot of paperwork has to be completed while construction of Tura Medical College has started in spite of challenges. “I am constantly monitoring the projects so that we can get it done as soon as possible,” he added.
Asked whether the fresh push will get the projects completed on time, Sangma said, “It is not about a new push. My predecessors had been working equally hard towards completing the projects which are critical for future generations.”
The proposed site for the Shillong Medical College and Hospital at Umsawli in New Shillong Township is currently being used as a corona care centre.
Festival, bypolls pose challenges
On the COVID-19 front, the Health minister expressed apprehension that with Durga Puja and bye-elections this month the state will face a challenging situation. He, however, sounded confident that the state will be ready to adapt to any kind of developing situation in terms of preparedness.
“We are maintaining vigil but we also need to take into consideration that there are certain religious sentiments attached to the festival. We have to be cautious and at the same time allow people to carry on with their salvation,” Sangma said.
On the current status of health infrastructure and logistics, the Health minister said, “I always keep saying that we will be hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.”
“If we say everything is adequate that will be construed as complacency and we do not want to be complacent. We want to be ever vigilant and make sure that everything is monitored constantly,” he added.
On Thursday, the Union Health Ministry has issued a warning against resurgence of COVID-19 cases in October, November and December and had asked five states including Meghalaya to be ready for any eventuality.
The Ministry had pointed out that five states – Meghalaya, Mizoram, Kerala, Sikkim and Manipur – are reporting a weekly positivity rate of over five per cent.
