The proposed Alipurduar medical college has moved closer to construction after the authorities of Dabri tea garden handed over 90 acres of land at nearby Damanpur to the West Bengal government, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin. The site was inspected on Sunday by BJP MLA Paritosh Das, Alipurduar Sub-Divisional Officer Richard Lepcha and Chinmoy Dhar, manager of Majher Dabri tea garden.
The land is located beside Dabri tea garden in the Damanpur area, where residents have been seeking a government hospital for years. The tea garden authorities have issued a no-objection certificate for the land, and the state government has finalised the site for construction of the medical college, the report said.
The proposed institution is expected to address a major healthcare access gap in Alipurduar’s Birpara and Damanpur areas. At present, residents generally depend on nearby health facilities before being referred to Alipurduar District Hospital. Patients requiring further treatment are often sent to hospitals in Siliguri, involving a long journey from the district.
Local residents told the publication that the distance creates serious difficulties for families seeking urgent care. The report said some patients have died on the way after being referred to Siliguri, although it did not provide a specific number or identify the cases. The proposed medical college is therefore being viewed locally as a potential healthcare facility closer to communities in the western parts of the district.
The state government had announced plans for a medical college in Alipurduar after the change in the state government, according to the report. Officials had examined land at three locations—Tapsikhata, Birpara and Damanpur—before selecting the tea garden land. Its proximity to a national highway was cited as a key advantage for access and connectivity.
The land handover resolves one of the immediate site-related requirements, but the report does not provide details on the project’s sanctioned cost, bed capacity, academic intake, construction tender, medical approval or completion schedule. Those details will determine how quickly the proposed institution can become operational and how much of the district’s dependence on referrals to Siliguri it can reduce.
Das said the medical college would fulfil a long-standing demand of local residents and provide benefits to the public as well as opportunities for students. He also said construction work would begin quickly in the area. The next visible step will be the state government’s commencement of the construction process at the Damanpur site.
