GUNTUR: Much to the elation of the Palnadu people, the construction works of the long-awaited Piduguralla government hospital and medical college gained momentum. As the State government has decided to set up as many as 16 medical colleges across the State, Piduguralla town will soon have a medical college and hospital, bringing advanced medical facilities to the backward villages of Palnadu region.
Around 47 acres of land near Kamepalli village was allotted and construction works with an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore are already in progress. Along with 100 MBBS seats, a nursing college and 330-bed super speciality hospital would be available at the new infrastructure.
Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation officials are planning to begin admissions from the 2025-26 academic year and are planning to complete the works accordingly. Though the works were started on June 25, 2022, due to various reasons, the works got delayed, however, the officials are making efforts to complete the works earliest.
The construction works are taken up in two phases. In the first phase, as many as 12 blocks of the hospital with Rs 112 crore would be constructed, while in the second phase, as many as 17 blocks, including medical college buildings, labs, and students hostels would be constructed out of which 12 blocks are at slab level.
State-of-the-art operation theatres and OPD consultation rooms will be set up with the latest equipment, the officials informed. More than 350 construction labourers from Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Assam have been working round-the-clock in shifts to complete the works within the stipulated time.
This hospital will give a fillip to healthcare facilities in the newly formed district as people were forced to go to Guntur, which is 150 km away, due to the lack of adequate healthcare facilities in the Palnadu region, said Piduguralla MLA Kasu Maheshreddy.
K Ramana, a native of Piduguralla, said most of the lower-middle-class people are unable to afford treatment for serious illness in private hospitals. “The new hospital will make health care facilities accessible to the poor. The people are hoping that the construction of the new hospital will be completed at the earliest,” he added.