Guwahati, Sep 21 (IANS): Taking an indirect jibe at the previous Congress governments in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed on Tuesday that the healthcare sector in the state has got a powerful boost under the BJP regime.

While visiting Biswanath district on Tuesday, Sarma said that improving healthcare infrastructure has always been a primary focus area of the government.

The Chief Minister drew a comparison between the number of medical colleges in the state now with that a few years back.

"From just three medical colleges earlier, the state can now boast of nine medical colleges," Sarma said.

The CM also exuded confidence that the upcoming medical college in Biswanath district should become functional by 2026.

With the medical colleges at Tezpur and Lakhimpur already functional and the ones at Biswanath and Dhemaji under construction, all the four districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra will have a medical college each, Sarma added.

The Chief Minister on Tuesday inaugurated the newly-constructed Gohpur Sub-Divisional Civil Hospital, located in Gohpur town in Biswanath district.

The state-of-the-art hospital, with a total build-up area of 5,029 square meters, has been built at an approximate cost of Rs 18 crore.