Pallavi Sharma
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday inaugurated a robotic surgery facility worth ₹30 crore at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), Tanda, Kangra. The ceremony, scheduled to be held in person, was conducted virtually from Chandigarh after his helicopter was unable to land in Tanda due to bad weather.
The Chief Minister said the government was determined to provide advanced healthcare closer to people’s homes by adopting modern technologies. Similar facilities have already been introduced at the Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialty, Chamiyana (Shimla).
Announcing further expansion, Mr. Sukhu said the government would soon install a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan machine at RPGMC Tanda to spare patients the burden of travelling outside Himachal Pradesh for such services. He also announced the increase of B.Sc. Nursing seats at Tanda from 40 to 60, alongside plans to strengthen emergency departments in all medical colleges.
The Chief Minister further outlined that robotic surgery facilities would be introduced at medical colleges in Hamirpur, Chamba, Nerchowk, and Nahan in a phased manner. Around 150–200 paramedical staff would be deployed in these colleges, 50 new posts of operation theatre radiographers would be created, and incentives would be rolled out for high-performing doctors.
Health Minister Col. (Dr.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, Ayush Minister Yadvinder Goma, R.S. Bali, and other senior leaders were present at Tanda during the inauguration.
While the initiative has been widely welcomed, questions remain over the sustainability and accessibility of such high-cost technologies in a hill state where basic healthcare delivery often struggles.
Locals have raised concerns about whether rural patients will truly benefit from advanced procedures like robotic surgery, or if these facilities risk becoming showcases of modernity limited to urban centres.
With rising expectations from public hospitals, the coming months may reveal whether robotic surgery at Tanda represents a genuine leap forward in healthcare delivery — or whether it will highlight the gap between technology-driven announcements and ground-level medical realities.
