A decade after completion, this Rs 73 crore 300-bed UP hospital remains non-functional

BAREILLY: A 300-bed multi-speciality hospital in Bareilly, constructed during the 2016–17 Samajwadi Party govt, remains largely non-functional nearly a decade after its completion.Built at an estimated cost of Rs 73 crore on the campus of the mental hospital, the facility was envisioned as a major healthcare boost for the Rohilkhand region. Equipped with modular operation theaters, ICU infrastructure, medical gas pipelines, air-conditioning systems, lifts and staff quarters, the hospital was expected to be fully operational by 2017. However, delays extended the timeline, and it was eventually handed over in 2022.During the Covid-19 pandemic, the hospital was temporarily used as a Level-2 facility with ICU beds and ventilators. Since then, full-scale operations have failed to take off. At present, only outpatient department (OPD) services are functional, while key facilities such as inpatient wards, surgeries, emergency services and radiology remain largely unused due to staff shortages.Samajwadi Party’s former national spokesperson Mayank Shukla alleged that the hospital’s non-functional status reflects administrative failure. He claimed that a fully built facility has not been effectively utilised and said it could have significantly improved healthcare services in the Bareilly division.Meanwhile, chief medical officer (CMO) Vishram Singh told TOI, “We have sent a proposal for a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model and will have to wait and see how the government acts on it.” Under this plan, the infrastructure may be handed over to a private operator for management and upgradation.