Govt to appoint over 6k doctors: Minister

PATNA: The state government has decided to appoint 6,072 new doctors in the state. The proposal has been sent to the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) for clearance, said health minister Ramdhani Singh in the assembly on Tuesday.
He was replying to a debate on the budgetary demand of Rs 4,971 for health sector. Rejecting the cut motion moved by Vinod Narayan Jha (BJP), the House passed the demand by voice vote amid walk out by the BJP members.
Health minister said in order to improve health services in the state, the government would appoint 6,072 doctors, including 2,666 specialized, 2838 general doctors besides dental surgeons. That apart, the government plans to regularize the contract doctors through BPSC.
Further, Singh said the government would soon sign an agreement with a company to provide ultrasound machines to different hospitals at district level. The government has also upgraded various hospitals such as Guru Gobind Singh Hospital in Patna City. Danapur and Phulwarisharif government hospitals would also have 100 beds each.
Moving the cut motion, Jha said there was nothing new in the budget and the government was singing old tune. Moreover, with a few months left for the election, the government would not be able to spend such a huge amount. Those who participated in the debate included Madan Manjhi of JD(U), Arun Shankar Prasad (BJP), Jyoti Rashmi and Pawan Jaiswal (both independent), Abdul Ghafur (RJD), Manju Verma and Guddi Devi (both JDU).