SHILLONG: The ongoing work for the new TB hospital at Umsawli will be delayed since the working season is limited due to prolonged monsoon season, Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek informed here on Sunday.
He however said that the work for the project is going on in full swing at the moment. “We will have to assess the construction progress and then a new deadline can be set for the project,” Hek added.
Until the new TB hospital at Umsawli is ready, the Government cannot shift the patients from Reid Chest Hospital at Jhalupara. The construction of the Shillong Medical College and Hospital can start only after the patients are shifted to the new hospital, he said.
Further, with the delay in the construction of the TB hospital at Umsawli, the State Government is all set to miss the deadline of 2017 to admit the first batch of students in the proposed Shillong Medical College and Hospital to be set up in the city. It may be mentioned that the State Government has signed an agreement with Kolkata-based KPC Group for setting up of the much-awaited Shillong Medical College under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode.
The proposed Shillong Medical College site at Jhalupara on a 23.8 acre plot would house over 500 beds and cater to over 200,000 patients every year. To make way for the proposed hospital, the State Government decided to shift the Reid Chest (TB) Hospital to Mawdiangdiang for which a plot of land has been allotted by the Urban Affairs department.