GUNTUR: Much to the relief of the Palnaud people, the construction works of the long-awaited Piduguralla Medical College and government hospital picked up pace, bringing advanced medical facilities to the reach of backward villages.
As part of the State government’s flagship project to set up 16 medical colleges across the State, around 47 acres of land at Kamepalli village in Piduguralla town were allotted for the construction of the healthcare facility at a cost of around Rs 500 crore.
Along with 100 MBBS seats, a nursing college, and 330-bedded super specialty hospital would be made available for the needy. Officials of the Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation have set a deadline and are completing the works accordingly to begin admissions for the 2025-26 academic year.
Meanwhile, Palnadu District Collector Siva Shankar Lotheti, who recently visited the hospital and inspected the progress of the works, said that the officials are planning to begin the outpatient services at the hospital from June.
Underscoring the importance of the government hospital in the district, Piduguralla MLA Kasu Maheshreddy said, “The hospital will give a fillip to health care facilities in the newly formed district as people are forced to go to Guntur, which is 150 km away, due to lack of adequate healthcare facilities in Palnadu.”
The construction works are taken up in two phases. In the first phase, as many as 12 blocks were constructed with a budget of Rs 112 crore, while in the second phase, as many as 17 blocks, including medical college buildings, labs, and students hostels would be constructed. State-of-the-art operation theatres and OPD consultation rooms will be set up with the latest equipment, the officials informed.