Hazaribagh, Feb 17 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated three medical colleges in the state and laid the foundation stone for the Women's Engineering College in Ramgarh district.

The three medical colleges inaugurated by Modi are located in Dumka, Palamau and Hazaribagh. According to Chief Minister Raghubar Das, academic sessions in the three colleges will start from June this year.

During his visit, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the Women's Engineering College in Ramgarh district, the third such institute in the country and the first in eastern India.

Modi also laid the foundation stone online for four 500-bed hospitals at Jamshedpur, Palamau, Hazaribagh and Dumka, which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 1,904 crore.

This apart, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stones for a Rs 517 crore drinking water project for Hazaribagh and pending and new irrigation projects worth Rs 160 crore.

"The Central government is focusing on the health of the people of the state. In coordination with the state government, three new medical colleges have been opened in one day. There were only three medical colleges in the state before and now three more have been added. People will get treatment and the youth will get medical education," said Modi while addressing a rally here.

Modi also opened the Jharkhand government's scheme to provide mobile phones to the farmers by handing over cheques worth Rs 2,000 each to five farmers.

He launched another scheme to provide 200 ml milk to school students daily as part of the midday meal programme.

"Our government is dedicated to do away with the 'middlemen' so that benefits reach the people directly," Modi said.