VIZIANAGARAM: In a significant move in upgrading healthcare for tribal and rural communities, the much-awaited area hospitals at Gajapathinagaram and Srungavarapukota, which were delayed from the past 10 years, are come underutilisation in the district from Monday.
Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education Satya Kumar Yadav inaugurated these two newly constructed area hospitals.
Minister for MSME, Kondapalli Srinivas, Director of Secondary Health in the Health, Medical & Family Welfare K.V.N. Chakradhara Babu, district collector S Ramsundar Reddy and others attended the event. Among those two hospitals, Gajapathinagaram area hospital, a 30-bed Community Health Centre (CHC) upgraded to a 100-bed Area Hospital to meet the growing healthcare demands of the local population. It was built with an estimated cost of `17 core and Srungavarapukota area hospital, a 50-bedded Community Health Center (CHC) upgraded into 100-bedded area hospital.
Srungavarapukota community health center (CHC) is only the government hospital for the entire assembly segment and neighbouring Anatagiri mandal under ASR district.
Tribes from various parts of Vepada, Srungavarapukota, Lakkavarapukota, and Kottavalasa mandals in Vizianagaram and Anantagiri mandal in neighboring ASR district have been depending on this CHC for treatment.
Therefore, a large number of people are flocking to the community health center throughout the year.
Especially in epidemic season, the hospital is witnessed a huge rush of patients with viral fevers and seasonal diseases.
After coming to know the plight of the patients in Srungavarapukota CHC, the union government has upgraded the 50-bedded CHC into 100-bedded area hospital and sanctioned `12.60 crore for the construction of the additional buildings along with 5-bedded dialysis unit sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP).
The State government upgraded the 30-bedded Gajapathinagaram Community Health Center (CHC) into a 100-bedded area hospital in 2019. Gajapathinagaram MLA and minister K Srinivas took initiative and completed works.