MADURAI: As the construction of the new tower block of Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai is nearing completion, a new challenge has appeared--the lack of a parking facility. While officials claim that a multi-level parking space of the tower block will be set up in the main building of GRH after demolishing the auditorium building, sources point out that the new building is being constructed without a parking space for the existing building.
"The premises of the main GRH building in Panagal Road is already congested with the vehicles parked by patients, attendants, and visitors. While there is not enough space even for a building that serves patients, we do not understand how there could be extra space to accommodate another parking facility for the new tower block. If the new building was properly planned before the construction, it would have reduced the current parking issues faced by GRH. Not to mention, the officials from the GRH have tried their best to bring the parking facility to the ground floor of the new building, but could not execute it," sources added.
The new tower block building is funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which has sanctioned around Rs 325 crore for the entire project, of which Rs 150 crore was sanctioned for the construction and Rs 175 crore for medical equipment.
As per the tender duration, the construction work, which began in April 2021, was expected to be completed in 18 months. However, the works were delayed due to the shortage of manpower during the Covid-19 pandemic. GRH Dean Dr. A Rathinavel said Around 70-80% construction work of the new tower block is done and the rest of the work will be completed by April.
Nodal Officer of GRH M Kalyan Sundaram says the new six-storey building will have 23 operation theatres (OT) with one high-tech hybrid cath-lab facility, the first of its kind to be introduced in southern Tamil Nadu.
The tower block's first and second floors will be allotted for emergency treatment for the cardiology department whereas the third and fourth floors will be the patient wards. The fifth and sixth floors will function as operation theatres for performing general surgery, plastic surgery, ENT, and cardiovascular," he adds.