Cars can wait, Covid won't: Maruti starts multi-speciality hospital in Gujarat

In current times when medical infrastructure and facilities have become India's primary need, Maruti Suzuki has taken a big step in the battle against Covid-19 by partnering with Zydus Hospitals to officially start a multi-speciality hospital in Gujarat's Sitapur. The facility has been completely funded by Maruti Suzuki Foundation, a CSR initiative of Maruti Suzuki.

Expected to serve around 3.75 lakh people in Sitapur and adjoining villages, the 50-bed facility can be expanded to 100 beds, as per a press statement issued by Maruti Suzuki. The country's largest car maker adds that the hospital had been constructed in a land area which spans more than 7.5 acres and is the first in this area with super specialization services.

Maruti has a manufacturing facility in Gujarat and this Hansalpur plant has a a production capacity of 5 lakh units per annum. But the lack of a proper medical establishment in the area was a concern. "When our Gujarat car plant started, there was no major medical facility available in the region," says Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India. "We decided to build a good quality multispeciality hospital for the benefit of all residents of that area and partnered with one of the best names in healthcare – Zydus Hospitals."

The plans for the hospital were afoot even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit India but Ayukawa adds that this facility has now been converted into a Covid-care establishment in order to treat those infected.

A number of auto companies have come to the fore to assist - directly or indirectly - in the fight against the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in India. With medical infrastructure under unprecedented stress and most states enforcing restrictions and lockdown, the need to provide timely medical aid has become more crucial than ever before.