Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said that classes at ESI Medical College and Hospital, Ner Chowk would be started from academic session 2014-15.
Thakur met Shish Ram Ola, Union Labour and Employment Minister in New Delhi today in this regard and said that the Central Government had agreed in principle to associate Zonal Hospital Mandi with ESI Medical College and directions would be issued to Director General of ESI. He said that the State Government and Government of India would sign a Memorandum to associate 350 bedded Zonal Hospital Mandi with the Medical College. The facilities including equipments, machineries and other infrastructural facilities would be provided to the ESI Medical College.
Kaul Singh Thakur said that the State Government was considering increasing the bedding capacity of Zonal Hospital Mandi to 500 from 350 so as to provide clinical facilities to the students of medical college. He said that the State Government had given 41 acre land on 99 years lease for establishing ESI Medical College and Hospital. He said that there would be 100 MBBS seats in this college out of which 50 seats would be reserved for bonafide Himachali students. He said that this would also help on meeting the requirement of doctors in the State.
