The State government has given the green signal for works on the hospital building block of the Kasaragod government medical college at Badiadka here. The decision was taken by the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, at a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
The meeting resolved to commence the works this month itself. The ₹88-crore project was awarded to Erode-based R.R. Thulasi Builders (India) Private Ltd., a senior official of the Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation Ltd. (KITCO), which supervises the project, said on Thursday.
500-bed hospital
The 500-bed hospital project at Ukinadka, near Badiadka, 30 km from the district headquarter town, is designed to absorb 100 students a year.
The work on the 20,000 sq m academic building block is nearing completion. The 37,850-sq m hospital block is designed to have facilities, including nine operation theatres, radiology department, and blood bank. The building will be linked with an electric substation.
The phase three works envisage construction of staff quarters, hostels, and allied residential facilities, he said. The project is estimated to be completed by May 2020 and the students’ intake could commence during the intervening period, the official said.
Its foundation stone was laid by then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on November 30, 2013.
The authorities primarily focussed on completing the academic building blocks, procuring assistance from NABARD and the special package recommended by the P. Prabhakaran Commission, instituted to chalk out projects for the development of the relatively backward district, which still relies on far off hospitals for expert medical care.
Endosulfan victims
Though the project is located close to the Karnataka border, the area has a heavy concentration of endosulfan victims, most of them hailing from indigent families.
