Gurugram: Demolition of old Civil Hospital building to be completed by August

GURUGRAM: The work on new Civil Hospital building will start soon, according to the health department which is planning to complete demolition of the old building by August. The department has already received the state government’s approval to disburse Rs 1.6 crore for shifting a CT-MRI unit in the hospital to Sector 10 Civil Hospital.
After the CT-MRI unit is shifted, the existing hospital building in Civil Lines will finally be demolished. Work on the new building is also likely to begin in August, according to officials.
“An amount of Rs 1.6 crore has been approved for shifting CT-MRI machine from Civil Hospital in Civil Line to Civil Hospital in Sector-10,” said an order by the additional chief secretary, health department.
Health officials in the city also confirmed the development. “Within 15 days, we will be able to shift the CT scan unit and within a month the MRI unit will be removed so that the demolition can start. The CT scan and MRI test centre will be moved to the basement of the Sector 10 Civil hospital as directed by the state government,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurugram .
The construction of the new hospital building had hit several hurdles. Built about 50 years ago, the Civil Hospital has witnessed at least six incidents of ceiling collapse in the past two years alone.
In 2012, the state government had spent over Rs 20 crore to upgrade the hospital building. Apart from renovation work, expensive equipment were also installed at the hospital. But ceilings seemed to have been ignored by the authorities in most wards. In 2015, after the ceiling of the maternity ward collapsed thrice, the hospital authorities decided to move the ward to the government hospital in Sector 10 and renovate the maternity ward. In 2016, the staff and patients had a close shave as the ceiling of the ICU ward also caved in.
The public works department, in reports submitted in 2015 and 2017, had recommended that the entire building be pulled down to avoid further mishaps. The state government then approved the revamp of the project at a cost of Rs 260 crore.