Construction complete but OPD fails to begin in AIIMS Bathinda

Once again, the inauguration of outpatient department (OPD) of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda has been delayed. While inspecting progress of the work on July 16, the Union food processing industry minister and Bathinda member of parliament Harsimat Kaur Badal had announced that the OPD would be functional from September 1.

Harsimrat has been slamming the Punjab government for deliberately delaying the commissioning of AIIMS in her parliamentary constituency.

Although the construction is complete, there is no move to begin the medical facility at the upcoming AIIMS campus. Official sources had earlier announced that the OPD would begin in July.

Deputy commissioner B Srinivasan told HT on Sunday that the three-storeyed building is complete. “We have yet not received any intimation as to when OPD will begin working. The building is completely ready,” said the DC.

The ₹ 950-crore project built on 177 acres located on the outskirts of the city on the Bathinda-Dabwali road will also have a nursing college. As part of the first phase of the ambitious project, AIIMS classes have started at the institute’s temporary campus in

Faridkot-based Guru Gobind Singh Medical College (GGSMC), an institute under Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS).

Set up 21 years ago, BFUHS is the mentor for the establishment of AIIMS in Bathinda city.

First Published: Sep 02, 2019 01:05 IST