NAGAPATTINAM: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday virtually inaugurated the new 700-bed government medical college hospital in Orathur, Nagapattinam. The hospital, spanning 34,481 sq ft, has been constructed at a cost of Rs 254.8 crore. Health Minister Ma Subramanian, Collector Johny Tom Varghese and TFDC Chairman N Gowthaman were present during the inauguration.
The hospital, designed to serve Nagapattinam, Vedaranyam, Nagore, Velankanni, Kilvelur, and Karaikal, houses various departments across its floors, including emergency and casualty units, outpatient ward, obstetrics, paediatrics, general medicine, and surgery.
To improve connectivity, a new 3 km medical college hospital access road is under construction at a cost of Rs 26 crore. A perimeter wall will also be constructed for Rs 15 crore.
Notably, the foundation stone for the medical college hospital was laid by former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on March 7, 2020. Initially Rs 366.85 crore was allocated for the construction of the hospital, but over the years, the allocation increased. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the medical college via video conference on January 12, 2022, construction of the hospital dragged on.
The completion of the hospital took longer than anticipated due to unfavourable soil condition and lack of fresh drinking water. As pumping of drinking water was not possible due to groundwater salinity, water is now being supplied from the Kollidam River through a pipeline.