New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the central Government has so far given 11 crore free COVID-19 vaccine doses to West Bengal for its fight against COVID, while virtually inaugurating the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) in Kolkata.
"West Bengal has received 11 crore free doses by the Central Govt. Over 1,500 ventilators and 9,000 oxygen cylinders have also been provided. 49 PSA Oxygen Plants are also functional. All of these would help the people of WB in the fight against COVID," the PM said.
Prime Minister also noted that in just 5 days, over 1.5 crore kids aged between 15-18 have been given the first dose of vaccination.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too was present at the inauguration ceremony.
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"Out of the entire eligible population, over 90% of India's population has at least got one dose. In just 5 days, over 1.5 crore kids aged between 15-18 have been given a dose," the PM said.
As per data from the Prime Minister's Office, the second campus of CNCI has been built at a cost of over Rs 530 crore, out of which around Rs 400 crores have been provided by the Union Government and the rest by the West Bengal Government, in the ratio of 75:25.
The campus is a 460-bedded comprehensive cancer center unit with cutting-edge infrastructure for cancer diagnosis, staging, treatment, and care. The campus is equipped with modern facilities like Nuclear Medicine (PET), 3.0 Tesla MRI, 128 slice CT scanner, Radionuclide therapy unit, endoscopy suite, modern brachytherapy units, etc.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, Union ministers namely Subhash Sarkar, Santanu Thakur, Nisith Pramanik and John Barla were also virtually present at the inauguration ceremony.
The CM thanked the Union government as well as physicians and researchers associated with the institute. She informed that she decided to participate in the function since the campus was being inaugurated by the Prime Minister and the Union health minister personally called her up twice requesting her to be present at the meeting.
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“We donated 11 acres of land for the campus. The Union and the state government should work together for the welfare of the people,” Banerjee also said.
However, she claimed that the campus had been functional log time back.
She said that previously she visited another campus of the Chittaranjan Cancer Institute and had set up a COVID-19 center there.
Banerjee also claimed that currently there is not a single polio victim in the state. “During the previous regime, only 65 percent of the state’s population was covered under health infrastructure, which is 99 percent now,” the Chief Minister said.
