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Raipur, September 06, 2025: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai today launched the first robotic surgical system ‘Dev Hasta’ of government health institutions of Central India at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the capital Raipur.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister said “Robotic surgery is a new dimension in the development of medical facilities in Chhattisgarh. This historic moment will prove to be a milestone in the direction of providing state-of-the-art and better treatment to the people of the state.”
Sai himself formally launched this state-of-the-art technology by doing the first dry lab dissection on ‘Dev Hasta’. This system is the first robotic surgical system to be installed in a government health institution in Central India.
On this occasion, he also announced the construction of a fully equipped “Parivar Niwas” in AIIMS Raipur for the convenience of the relatives of patients admitted from other states including Chhattisgarh in AIIMS Raipur.
“Doctors are considered as the form of God on earth because they give us life. The robotic surgery system which is being launched today has been named ‘Dev Hasta’. Its benefits will be available not only to patients of Chhattisgarh but also to patients from other states admitted to AIIMS Raipur. AIIMS Raipur is continuously proving to be a milestone in providing excellent medical facilities,” the Chief Minister said.
While addressing the programme, Sai said he has a special attachment to AIIMS Raipur. He said that when the construction of Raipur AIIMS was approved, he was an MP at that time and had requested Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to establish a branch of AIIMS in Chhattisgarh. This was necessary so that the pressure of patients on the only AIIMS located in Delhi is reduced and people of other states also get high level medical facilities in their state.
“We are fortunate that Chhattisgarh was also included in the six states in which approval was given to establish AIIMS,” he said.
Announcing the Parivar Niwas, he said, he can understand very well how important it is to provide accommodation to the relatives of patients coming from far-off places. While being an MP, people used to call his residence in Delhi as ‘Mini AIIMS’ because he used to make arrangements for the relatives of patients to stay there.
“This work of public service is very close to my heart. During my parliamentary tenure from 2014 to 2019, I had provided about Rs 12 crore to patients from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. In Raipur too, arrangements have been made for the relatives of patients in Kunkuri Sadan, which is benefited by the people of the entire state,” the Chief Minister said.
Sai said that in the last 20 months after the formation of the government, five new medical colleges have been approved in the state and work is being done continuously towards expanding health facilities.
He informed that a Medicity with a capacity of 5,000 beds is being constructed in Nava Raipur. At the time of formation of Chhattisgarh state, there was only one medical college, whereas today 15 medical colleges are operating in the state.
He said that due to changes in lifestyle and food habits, serious diseases like cancer have increased and their treatment is also expensive. For this reason, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the Ayushman Bharat scheme, under which free treatment up to five lakh rupees is available to the poor class people. Now under the Vaya Vandan Yojana, this facility is also being provided to patients of all categories above the age of 70 years.
Chhattisgarh Health and Family Welfare Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal said that while medical facilities are increasing with time, the scope of diseases is also increasing.
He said that “Robotic surgery has special importance in modern medical system. Through this, medical capacity and quality can be increased manifold. Chhattisgarh will get immense benefit of ‘Dev Hasta’ robotic surgical system and soon the facility of robotic surgery will be made available in Mekara Hospital of the capital Raipur as well.”
On this occasion, Chief Minister Sai presented a prize money of five thousand rupees to Jyotsna Kiradu, the winner of the competition organized for naming ‘Dev Hasta’.
Director and Chief Executive Officer of AIIMS Raipur, Lieutenant General (Retd.) Dr. Ashok Jindal, Head of Department Dr. Devjyoti Mohanty, a large number of medical students and dignitaries were present in the programme.
