Varanasi Divisional Hosp demolition to begin in May for 500-bed super specialty project

VARANASI: The phase-wise demolition of the existing structures of Shiv Prasad Gupta Divisional Hospital in Varanasi is expected to begin in mid-May for the construction of a 500-bed multi super-specialty hospital. This hospital bears the load mainly of patients from the old city area's population as well as adjoining districts.Recently, a meeting was held in Lucknow regarding the construction of the proposed hospital. The meeting was attended by its stakeholders, representatives of consultant agency Mothers Pride Infrastructure Private Limited, engineers from the Public Works Department and several technical experts.According to officials, discussions were held on various situations arising in connection with the demolition and reconstruction of the hospital, and intensive deliberations were conducted for Environmental Impact Assessment approval. Verbal consensus of all participants was reached on this matter, and collective agreement was given to take all necessary measures for the approval and compliance of the Environmental Impact Assessment and for the acceptance of environmental protection measures. Necessary measures are to be taken for air, water, noise and waste management, environmental protection rules are to be followed, and it is also to be ensured that no adverse impact falls on the surrounding areas.The PWD already invited tenders for its construction, and the process is underway. PWD's executive engineer (building) Pushp Raj Singh said that the tendering process is expected to complete by April 15. , after which the people of the successful bidder will inspect the site for demolition and construction. The phase-wise demolition will take one month to complete. Before starting the demolition of the identified portion, the hospital facilities would be shifted to the other portion so that the functioning of the hospital is not affected.The cabinet's final approval for the project was given in Jan to convert the SPG divisional hospital into a multi super-specialty hospital with an investment of Rs 351.48 crore in four years in an area of 83,000 square feet. Of the total budget of the project, 60% will be provided by the Centre and the remaining by the state govt.Singh said that the work will be completed in three phases. In the first phase, work will be started in half of the portion after demolition to build the admission building, lab building, indoor patient department and a building comprising the dialysis unit, operation theatre, ICU, OPD and emergency. In the second phase, construction of a building comprising the kitchen, IPD short ward, IPD private ward, all OPDs including the OPD prisoners ward, OPD registration and the administrative office will be done.In the third and final phase, the development of landscaping in the front portion of the project area will be completed. In the building area, there will be two basements, while the hospital building will be built as ground plus eight storeys. A ground plus 12-storey building will be built for residential purposes.Currently, this hospital bears the load of patients from Varanasi's old city area and also from neighbouring districts. According to hospital authorities, on average, 2,175 patients are registered in the OPD on each working day and 60 patients are admitted in the IPD, where 316 beds are available.