Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Jan 1: There has been no progress in the construction of the 100-bed Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital despite the passing of around one year since the foundation stone was laid at SIDCO Industrial Complex in Ompora in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Thousands of insured industrial workers and their families working in roughly 600 factories and institutions designated under the ESI Act would have benefited from the hospital, which was built at a cost of Rs 160 crore.
The ESIC system pays for all medical and hospital expenses, including referrals to a territory care hospital, as well as a variety of insurance coverages for death and disability. “The hospital would improve the healthcare facilities of the entire area because it would be equipped with modern healthcare facilities and would have OPD, IPD, ICU, wards, diagnostic laboratories, operation theatre, and disaster management facilities, in addition to an independent sub-station,” an official familiar with the details said, adding that surgery and psychiatric experts would be made available in the hospitals around the clock.
The hospital’s foundation stone was laid by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and then Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, in December 2020, with a two-year deadline set for completion.
However, a year has gone by with no work on the project. “Aside from dumping some materials, nothing has transpired so far. The hospital was planned to be built in the same style as hospitals in Delhi and Mumbai, in order to provide better treatment to the locals. The goal is to deliver better healthcare services to the disadvantaged elements of society at an affordable price”, another official said, adding that treatment costs would be capped so that those in need would benefit.
He said that SIDCO had bought 40 kanals of property to be leased out for the construction of a hospital that would function and provide better patient care during emergency situations. “All necessary personnel and equipment, as well as a sufficient number of operating rooms, must be stationed at the hospital in order to provide superior health care to patients. Around 23 specialists will be available in the hospital,” he said.
Praveen Mudgil, a senior ESIC official, told Excelsior that the project is being carried out by the CPWD and that the work has been tendered. “The work has been granted to the contractors, and will begin shortly,” he said.
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