Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami laid the foundation stone for the Government Medical College and Hospital in Udhagamandalam through videoconferencing on Friday.
In a press release, the district administration stated that the hospital will be constructed at a cost of ₹447.32 crore on 40-acre land located on the outskirts of Udhagamandalam town near the Hindustan Photo Films Factory Manufacturing Company Limited premises.
The Nilgiris District Collector, J. Innocent Divya, said that the hospital will benefit local residents and tourists who need medical care, as well as students looking to become doctors.
Land for the medical college and hospital, where around 150 students will undergo training to become qualified doctors, was procured from the Forest Department and the Department of Animal Husbandry, the Collector added.
In a statement, Minister for Municipal Administration S.P. Velumani said that the hospital will ensure residents in the Nilgiris will have access to quality, affordable healthcare. The statement said that based on the 2011 census, the only district which recorded a contraction in the population in Tamil Nadu was the Nilgiris, when the population contracted by 3% as compared to the previous census.
The decrease in population was due to people moving out of the Nilgiris in search of better job opportunities, better education facilities, and due to a lack of access to quality healthcare and man-animal conflicts, he said. He added that with the construction of the medical college and hospital, residents would not have to travel to Coimbatore and Kerala to get medical attention, as was the case presently.
2,000 trees to be cut
The hospital, which when constructed will spread over 40 acres, will entail the cutting down of over 2,000 trees in Udhagamandalam town.
Present at the laying of the foundation stone was Dean of the medical college and hospital Dr. Ravindran, as well as MLAs from Coonoor, Udhagamandalam and Gudalur.