The CM-MOT Team at the Tuophema Tourist Resort on January 23.
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | January 23
While the rural population of Nagaland has long suffered from lack of access to healthcare due to lack of basic infrastructure, poor transport and financial hardships among other challenges, the past year has brought a glimmer of hope to the rural communities across the state through the Chief Minister’s Mobile Operation Theatre (CM-MOT).
A year since CM-MOT was formally launched on Republic Day last year, it has performed more than 1,000 surgeries ranging from life‑saving major operations to minor and dental procedures. The noble initiative has won the trust and admiration of the rural beneficiaries for whom 'specialised healthcare” at their doorsteps was never known or experienced before.
As CM-MOT nears the completion of its one-year mark, the Team's visit to Botsa PHC on January 23 also marked the 25th destination of the Chief Minister's Mobile Operation Theatre.
Dr Keneilhoulie Medom, Anesthesiologist & Managing Director, KOHIMAS Hospital, an integral team member of the CM-MOT noted that the 25th destination “mirrors the five terms of Dr Rio’s leadership, each village a tribute to his vision of uplifting the down‑trodden.”
When the calendar turned to 2026, he highlighted that, “the CM‑MOT team set out on a pilgrimage of healing, beginning with four remote hamlets including Medziphema CHC, Dhansiripar CHC, Viswema CHC and culminating at Botsa PHC Tuophema, the beloved hometown of Chief Minister Dr Neiphiu Rio.”
At Botsa, a total of 54 surgeries including 24 major and 30 minor were conducted apart from 245 OPD cases and 70 dental procedures.
During this one-year period, the CM-MOT Team traversed all 16 districts of Nagaland, covering 25 rural pockets where advanced surgery had once been a distant dream. Ever since it was officially flagged off on January 26, 2025, it has been initiated under the steadfast guidance of Dr. Tseilhoutuo Rhütso, MLA of Kohima Town, towards fulfilling its aim to improve access to specialized care, promote health equity, and reduce healthcare costs in underserved regions featuring a fully equipped mobile surgical unit, portable diagnostic tools such as ultrasound, X-ray, endoscopy, blood test and instruments for minimally invasive surgeries.
'We are instruments of compassion'
As the team travelled across the rural districts of Nagaland in the past one year even while navigating difficult terrains, their greatest reward was witnessing “the smiles that blossomed across weathered faces, and the renewed hope that flickered in eyes once clouded by pain.”
“We are instruments of compassion, and each grateful heart we touch becomes a blessing that sustains us”, reflected a surgeon. They were also overwhelmed with the gratitude of the communities that arrived in humble, heartfelt forms, farmers presenting a kilogram of kholar (beans), their most prized harvest, as a token of thanks.
Families also opened their homes, offering steaming bowls of rice and vegetables, sharing their modest meals with the surgeons who had become their lifeline. “These simple gifts, given with trembling hands, turned into powerful symbols of mutual respect and shared humanity”, expressed Dr Keneilhoulie Medom, Anesthesiologist & Managing Director, KOHIMAS Hospital.
As the team closed its 25th chapter at Botsa‑Tuophema, he stated that, “we carry with us a tapestry of stories—of lives saved, of communities united, and of a government’s promise fulfilled.”
“The silver jubilee of CM‑MOT stands as a testament to what can be achieved when leadership, dedication, and community spirit converge, a legacy of health, hope, and humanity that will echo through Nagaland for generations to come”, he further articulated.
