Raiganj, Oct. 26 -- Residents and members of the trading community in Raiganj, North Dinajpur, are hopeful that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will take the initiative to establish an AIIMS-type hospital in the town. The Chief Minister is scheduled to visit North Dinajpur on October 29 where he will hold an administrative meeting at the Karnajora auditorium before distributing benefits to beneficiaries and addressing public rallies at a nearby ground.
According to sources, a proposal to establish an AIIMS-type hospital in Raiganj was approved at a Central Cabinet meeting in 2008. The state government subsequently earmarked around 150 acres of land at Sitgram mouza in Panishala, Raiganj, for the project. However, the land was never acquired, prompting residents and traders to organise several protest movements, including road blockades on NH34.
In 2016, the then Trinamool Congress-led state government shifted the proposed hospital site from Raiganj to Kalyani in Nadia district. During the 2026 Assembly election campaign, Union Home minister Amit Shah reportedly assured voters that an AIIMS would be established in North Bengal if the BJP formed the government. Following the BJP coming to power in Bengal, the Centre showed interest in the construction of a hospital here. Raiganj MP Kartik Chandra Paul has also highlighted the need for such a hospital in the region.
Atanu Bandhu Lahiri, general secretary of the Raiganj Merchants' Association, said: "The former state government shifted the AIIMS project from Raiganj to Kalyani. If the hospital is established here, people from North Bengal and Bihar will benefit. Connectivity has also improved following the opening of Purnea airport. We hope the Chief Minister will assure residents that the project will be revived for Raiganj. Adequate government land is available here."
Bikash Sarkar, a Raiganj resident, said people across North Bengal had united to demand the hospital but felt ignored by the previous government. Residents are now urging the state government to establish the AIIMS facility in Raiganj.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.