Govind Sharma
JAMMU, July 13: People of Jammu Province, particularly of Jammu and its adjoining districts, will have to wait for another year or more to see the lone Maternity Hospital functional, as after passing of over five years even basic infrastructure of the hospital is not ready.
According to sources in the Health Department, this 200 bedded maternity hospital was conceived during coalition Government of National Conference and Congress because the main maternity hospital housed in the SMGS Hospital Complex always remains overcrowded and accordingly the project was taken up with the then Union Government, which agreed to provide funds for the hospital.
Sources said the target was to complete the project by the end of 2014-15 financial year but it missed the first deadline mainly because of slow funding from the Union Government and lack of follow up exercise from the concerned authorities of the J&K Health Department.
“Since 2014-15, several deadlines were fixed for completion of the project but to utter disappointment of the Jammuites, the project missed all deadlines and in the year 2017, the work had to be stopped due to paucity of funds and it was started only in end of the year when the remaining funds were released by the concerned department”, they regretted.
Sources further revealed that by ending March 2018, about Rs 43 crores were spent by the PWD (R&B) department and as per the approved design of the building, the civil work was completed some months back. Not only this electrical, plumbing and other works had been completed and furnishing work started but later a major blunder in design of the building came to fore which was absence of ramp.
“Ramp is a vital part of infrastructure of the hospital as one cannot even think of a hospital without a ramp and in case of some technical fault in lifts, the patients can be taken from one floor to another only through ramp, not stairs”, they said and wondered how the concerned agency who made the design of the building and health authorities who approved the same missed this.
“Though the construction work on the ramp has been started and 80 % work even completed but it has to be accommodated adjoining the hospital building near old building of Government Hospital, Gandhi Nagar, leaving almost no space between two buildings”, sources informed.
They said that height of the negligence of the authorities can be gauged from the fact that sewerage treatment plant which is another important part of hospital infrastructure was also not accommodated in the approved design and now the work on this is also going on. Moreover, the top two floors of the building has not been provided the facility of central AC system while patients at top floors need this facility more whether it is summer or winter.
Sources said that these blunders by the authorities not only delayed the project further but also escalated project cost, as ramp and sewerage treatment plant were not included in the estimate of the PWD (R&B) department. They said though building will be ready in next four-five months to use but the authorities will not be in a position to start the hospital, as proposal for creation of the posts have not been moved till date. “However, the list of equipments to be procured for the hospital has been submitted to the J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (JKMSCL)”, they further added.
When contacted, Commissioner/Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Dr Pawan Kotwal said that the 90% work on the hospital has been completed and only furnishing work is going on which is also on last stage. The work on ramp and waste treatment plant is also on last stage, he added.
On creation of posts for the hospital, Dr Kotwal said they will soon move the proposal. The list of equipments to be used in the hospital has been submitted to JKMSCL for procurement, he further added.
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