Union Health Minister JP Nadda inaugurates Library and Information Centre in Assam's Tezpur

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, JP Nadda, today, January 8, visited the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Health Institute in Tezpur, where he officially inaugurated a new modern library and information centre. The facility, built at a cost of Rs 12 crore, was inaugurated in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The health institute, which is under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, also houses a state-of-the-art mental health department. After unveiling the library and information centre, the Union Minister attended a meeting of the Board of Governors of the institution. The session was attended by various dignitaries, including Dr. Jyoti Hazarika, Director of the Institute, Dr. Hemanta Dutta, Deputy Director, Dr. Atul Goel, Director of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Professor Noni Gopal Mahanta, Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University, among others.

Notably, the health institution was established in 1876 during the British era as a "Lunatic Asylum" for the treatment of mental illness. Currently, the institution has 376 beds for patients. In 1989, the Assam government renamed the institution after the Bharat Ratna awardee, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, and it has since been known as the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Mental Health Institute.

The institute’s transformation continued when, in 1999, the North Eastern Council brought it under its jurisdiction. In 2000, the institution began offering a diploma course in mental health treatment. Over time, the institution added new medical courses, including the DNB in 2006 and the MSc in Nursing in 2007. From 2010, the institute also began offering an MD course in mental health, marking a new chapter in its development.

With the inauguration of the modern library and information centre today, students and staff of the institute are expected to greatly benefit from the new facilities. Following the inauguration, the Minister visited the medical facilities of the institute with Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Health Minister Ashok Singhal.