In the recent times, there is a spurt in the health infrastructure front in Madurai. First and foremost is the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Thoppur, a facility brought to Madurai after much uncertainty. It is expected to transform the health sector in south Tamil Nadu.
Next is the super speciality hospital of Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) opposite its annexe near Collectorate. It started functioning after a series of delays in construction.
Joining these big ticket investments is a ₹330-crore operation theatre complex, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This project received approval from the State government five years back. Despite the delay, GRH officials say the project is gathering pace what with funds allocated for shifting some departments from the main building that houses the Dean’s chamber to make way for the construction of the new facility.
The lowdown
GRH conceptualised the project due to cramped spaces in the existing building and the need for state-of-the-art operation theatres. A source in charge of overseeing the project said the main building, constructed in the 1940s, is incapable of catering to a population which has tripled since. “The building is congested, leaky and old. When it rains, it is all the more evident,” he said.
The new complex with six floors would house 24 modular operation theatres with pore-free walls to prevent dust from settling in and retain the atmosphere sterile. Operation theatres of five departments - General Surgery, ENT, Plastic Surgery, Cardiothoracic, and Vascular surgery - would be housed in the complex.
Besides, there would be three critical care units and as many intensive care units with 20 beds each and a post-anaesthesia care unit. Among the 24 theatres, one would be a hybrid facility where MRI and CT scans could be taken and analysed during the performance of the procedure.
The original plan was to construct the building near the GRH auditorium. This was dropped after the Land Planning Authority (LPA) rejected the site saying it had narrow approach roads and skewed floor-space index which is the ratio of the plot size on which the construction happens and the total permissible coverage area.
Status
Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said the detailed project report had been prepared and tenders would be floated next month. “The tender process will take about three to four months after which construction will begin,” she said.
GRH Dean K. Vanitha said the project would be completed in two years from the date of commencement of the work.
Criticism
The project is opposed for two reasons: activists say GRH is a heritage building that must be preserved and the well-known façade not altered; doctors say the main complex is already overcrowded and cannot handle additional influx of patients and attendants, apart from the higher risk of infection.
A senior doctor said, “Ideally, a new building should have been planned so as to serve future generations. Now, it is coming up in an already overcrowded space.”
But the official in charge of the project said it would be a separate entity with parking facility for 300 cars and the whole complex will be maintained in a hygienic manner.
Henri Tiphagne, Executive director of People’s Watch, said: “ The building is a heritage structure which was constructed before independence, when the hospital was known as The Erskine Hospital. It must be preserved. A civil society meeting was held between our representatives and the hospital. We requested them to retain the façade. The Japanese, I am sure, would have protected similar structures in their country. Why should we not protect our own?” he asked.
However, an official said that for a building to be defined as a heritage structure, it should be over 100 years old or a historic event should have taken place there. “In any case, we are retaining the the façade to keep the identity and will demolish only the rest,” he said.
