Sarangpur centre to ease PGI load

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 19 

A brand new satellite centre, spread over 50.76 acres, will be constructed by the PGI at Sarangpur. Three essential departments -- the OPD, Trauma Centre and Cancer Centre -- will be moved to the new building, which will be constructed in close proximity to the existing one. A new learning centre will also be developed at the Sarangpur centre.

According to Prof Jagat Ram, Director, PGI, the institute will pay around Rs 180 crore for purchasing the land from the UT Administration. The new centre will be ready in about three and a half years, he said.

“Around 9,000-11,000 people come to the PGI on a daily basis. Last year, around 28 lakh people had visited the hospital,” said Prof Jagat Ram. The development of a new centre would help ease the load on the existing building, he said. The existing building would continue to have clinics of all departments. 

Another new feature of the Sarangpur centre will be the learning resource centre. 

“At the learning resource centre, we will be able to train people from all over the country. The training will be held for doctors, paramedics and other staff,” said Prof Jagat Ram.

The PGI authorities had been pushing for the Sarangpur centre for two years now, which was being delayed as the UT Administration sought about Rs 1,100 crore for the project. The authorities had also approached Health Minister JP Nadda, who had assured them that he would take up the matter with the Home Ministry. Approval from the Union Cabinet for the new centre came in February this year. 

At the PGI’s annual convocation, Nadda had emphasised on the need for expanding the institute. He had said that the institute managed an “unimaginable number of people” and was “stretched to capacity”.