PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 12 -- Highlighting the lack of adequate medical infrastructure in Prayagraj, Allahabad MP Ujjwal Raman Singh on Tuesday said the city urgently needed an AIIMS-like institution, as patients were still forced to travel to Lucknow or Delhi for advanced and life-saving treatment. Speaking at the inauguration of newly installed medical equipment at Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital (affiliated to the Motilal Nehru Medical College), the MP said the provision of ventilators and dialysis machines through the Central Warehousing Corporation's (CWC) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative would strengthen treatment facilities for critically ill patients. Under the initiative, Rs.2 crore was sanctioned for Motilal Nehru Medical College, while ventilators worth Rs.2.5 crore were provided to Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS). The MP said strengthening public healthcare facilities was essential to ensure that economically weaker patients could access advanced treatment without having to travel to other cities. MP representative Vinay Kushwaha recalled that Motilal Nehru Medical College was established in 1961 by then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Chandra Bhanu Gupta. He said former MP Kunwar Rewati Raman Singh had played a key role in securing Rs.125 crore from the Centre during the Manmohan Singh-led government, when Ghulam Nabi Azad was the Union health minister. The then chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav had subsequently contributed Rs.25 crore towards developing the college's super-specialty hospital. Kushwaha said affordable treatment at government hospitals provided significant relief to the poor. Citing the example of a stent procedure, he said it costs around Rs.65,000 at the hospital, compared to Rs.3 lakh to Rs.4 lakh at private hospitals. MLNMC principal Dr AK Verma, CWC HR head Prakash Chandra Rai, chief medical superintendent Dr Neelma Singh, Dr Mohit Jain, Dr Arvind Gupta, Dr Anil Singh, Dr Santosh Maurya and MP representative Vinay Kushwaha were among those present....