Imphal, August 24 2009: The bright hopes of setting up of a Dental College at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) appeared to be blurred at least for the time being due to lack of seriousness on part of the authority of the Institute.

The plan of setting up a Dental College at RIMS was initiated long back when the institute was under the North Eastern Council (NEC).

It may be mentioned that the Financial Committee of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Executive Council Society of RIMS have already approved the setting up of a Dental College at RIMS.

The proposed dental college has been only awaiting clearance from the concerned ministry.

The RIMS authority were said to have planned to use the old buildings of RIMS as the Dental College.

The RIMS authority has also reportedly shown a delegation of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry that the dental college will be run at the old buildings of RIMS.

Accordingly, the Central delegation had reported that most of the infrastructures are there.

The delegation, in their report, stated that the college can be run with appointment of few faculties and a handful of equipments needed for the college.

A highly reliable source said, even if the final stage has been set for the opening of a dental college, RIMS authority has initiated a totally new plan of setting up a nursing college at RIMS.

It has been reported that the RIMS authority had also shown a team of the Nursing Council of India�who came here to study the feasibility of setting up a nursing college�that the (same) old buildings of RIMS will be used in running the nursing college.

The signboards of the proposed dental college were replaced by signboards of nursing college in no time.

The paint of the buildings had also undergone a whitewash.

The source further said, smelling rat on the delusory stance of RIMS authority, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had deputed a professor from Guwahati to pay a surprise visit on June 30 to RIMS.

However, the news had leaked and the RIMS authority had replaced the signboards put up on the old buildings.

The source said the visiting professor was again impressed that the old buildings of RIMS were to be used as a dental college.

However, the RIMS authority was caught pants down when the visiting professor found that the rooms were filled with beds.

He reportedly asked the authority on the need of beds a dental college.

Since then, the matter of setting up a dental college at RIMS is said to be in vague.

The source indicates that some higher ups of RIMS wanted the setting up of the dental college in Mizoram instead of setting up here.

It said that the question of setting up of a dental college in the North East may vanish into thin air due to some unwanted plots.

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