It is a known fact that Mawbah or Barapathar is one of the densely populated localities in Shillong but what most people don’t know is that amid the concrete jungle, there lies an oasis 
– a perfect setup for a place of healing and convalescent – home to Northeast’s first hospital to treat tuberculosis.
In this episode of Shillong Iconic Structures, we are featuring the Reid Provincial Chest Hospital, commonly known as the Tuberculosis or TB Hospital, a 79-year-old health institute that was inaugurated on January 20, 1943, by Lady Reid, the Marchioness of Linlithgow.
Formerly known as Reid Provincial Sanatorium, the hospital derived its name from the then Governor of Assam, Robert N Reid. It is a referral hospital for Pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB), a contagious bacterial infection of the lungs.
Spread across 29 acres of land, the hospital is surrounded by Upper Mawprem and Jhalupara localities on the northern and eastern sides respectively while on the western and southern sides, it is bordered by a steep ravine that makes way for the Umshyrpi River to flow through it.
The hospital premises – its old cottages, freshly cut grasses, trees, and foliage, is what set this hospital apart from the other buildings in the vicinity. History has it that the approach road of the main hospital, with tall pine trees on both sides, was a sight to behold; though of course, the trees were cut down to make way for urbanisation.
Grantidalyne Kharbudon, the oldest serving employee of the hospital, said that back in the day, the hospital compound looked more or less like a park – right from the approach road till the main campus, the surrounding was beautified by evergreen grasses, tall trees and 
different varieties of flowers.
She further added that the hospital was also a fruit garden as one could find different kinds of fruit trees – from apples, mango, and plum to pears, blackberries and pomegranates. Now, many of these trees are old and no longer bear fruits.
At present, other than the missing pine trees on both sides of the approach road, everything else remains more or less the same. The old cottages still stand, though in a dilapidated condition; its greenery, flower beds and lawns are still maintained; and the soothing sound of nature – the melodious chirping of birds and the gushing sound of the river reverberates across the premises.
Reid Provincial started with only 50 beds; in 1949, it was increased to 78 and later to 196 beds in 1958. At present, the total bed strength is 217. The hospital was well-planned as is evident from the existing Assam-type cottages, with two-way ventilation; each separated from the other by a mini lawn or a small road but connected to one another through a tin roof-covered walkway that stretches right from the main campus till the two-storeyed building that is located at the southern part of the campus, near the ravine.
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