New medical college nearly done

In six months, the city will have its fourth medical college and hospital at Omandurar Government Estate.

The structures are fast approaching completion and awaiting inspection by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Nearly 95 per cent of the civil work on the seven blocks coming up along Wallajah Road has been finished. Spread over 8.45 lakh sq. ft., the structure that was once allotted to secretariat staff members and civil servants as part of the erstwhile Assembly complex will soon take the shape of a 500-bed hospital and medical college.

The Public Works Department is also speeding up work to complete a project to convert Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children into a 300-bed general hospital.

“This hospital will function as an annexe of the upcoming facility on Wallajah Road. The project worth Rs. 1.2 crore will be completed by month-end to suit MCI norms,” said an official.

The department is waiting for sanction from MCI to start the medical college with an intake of 100 students. About 700 labourers are involved in completing interior work in the towers that will accommodate the hospital, college, hostel and staff quarters. While three towers will be dedicated to the hospital, each of the remaining towers will house the college, hostel and quarters.

The towers will have seven floors each and connecting corridors. “We are converting the unfinished structure into a medical institution. We are also keen on maintaining the complex as green premises,” said an official.

There are plans to use recycled water in the complex by creating plants to treat sewage. The link block, which originally was meant to connect the assembly and secretariat complexes, will now house a canteen and ATMs.

Besides using eco-friendly construction materials like fly-ash bricks, PWD is also taking measures to reduce power consumption. About 2,000 saplings will be planted to compensate for the trees felled during the project,” said the official.

Students and patients’ attendants may also get a place to relax as a roof garden is being planned on the link block. The Rs. 200-crore project is expected to be completed by April next year.