Itanagar, June 18 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu today requested Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts to set up cancer hospitals in the state.
Khandu met Tata at Guwahati and said Arunachal Pradesh has been recording a very high rate of cancer cases.
"Our patients go all the way to Mumbai to Tata Memorial Hospital and Cancer Research Institute to get treatment for their ailments incurring huge expenditures. If such centers come up in Arunachal, it will be of much respite to the people," Khandu said, according to an official release.
Tata in principal agreed to set up two specialty cancer centres in Arunachal. He also agreed to visit Arunachal soon to finalise the project, the release said.
Khandu attended the ground breaking ceremony of cancer centers and launch of first of its kind cancer care programme in Assam being spearheaded by Government of Assam in collaboration with Tata Trusts.
Tata trust is putting up 19 new specialty cancer centres in Assam.
Khandu hoped the cancer centres would immensely benefit the patients from Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of Northeast, the release said.
The Arunachal Pradesh chief minister said, the BJP government in the Centre and the state is focused completely towards the welfare and wellbeing of the people.
"The massive development in last couple of years is the result of the optimistic attention of the Centre towards northeast through Modis Act East Policy," he added.
Khandu also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah under whose guidance and directions, the Northeast is witnessing the light of progress in all fields, the release added.
