IMPHAL, June 1 � Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has proposed to construct a 100-bedded hospital at Monywa, capital city of Myanmar�s Saigang division. Accordingly, he has requested for allotment of a 50 acre plot of land for the project.
Ibobi made the proposal to his Saigang counterpart U Thar Aye during his recent visit to the neighbouring country, according to Shija Hospitals CMD Dr Kh Palin, who led a 12-member doctors team to Monywa, 140 km east of Moreh.
The team was on a week-long �Mission Myanmar� visit to render free corrective surgeries to cleft lip and cleft palate patients under the Smile Train Cleft Project to Monywa General Hospital from May 24-28.
The proposed hospital will be funded by the Government of India and has got the scope of establishing a medical college with a capacity of 100 students out of which Myanmar will have 75 seats and 25 for the Northeastern States of India.
Speaking to media here after their successful sojourn in Myanmar on Saturday, Dr Palin said the Chief Minister also offered that Myanmar patients can avail of the services in hospitals of Manipur and assured full security besides providing subsidised accommodation at a Ministerial-level meeting at Monywa.
The Chief Minister also stressed on importance of implementation of visa on arrival and Myanmar Visa office in Imphal, he added. �We conducted as many as 103 surgeries on 87 patients against the target of 100�, said Dr Palin. �Many patients were declined due to time factor and full occupancy of the hospital. But we are planning to visit again hopefully after three months�.
The Chief Minister Saigang division U Thar Aye and his Manipur counterpart visited the hospital two times on separate occasions and once together while the team was conducting operations and encouraged the good work of the mission which will bring the two nations closer, he added.
