IGMC seeks additional land to expand health, edu facilities

Shimla, December 12

The Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) has sought additional land for the expansion of healthcare and educational facilities. The premier healthcare institute of the state is eyeing the land below the circular road towards the Auckland tunnel.

Infrastructure needs upgrade

Though the MBBS seats have doubled from 60 to 120 over the years, the infrastructure hasn’t been upgraded much. “The lecture halls and labs are too small to accommodate 120 students. There’s overcrowding in lecture halls, and it is inconvenient for both students and the faculty, a doctor said.

In a letter written to the district administration, the IGMC has requested that the land be allotted to IGMC so that the hospital could use it as and when it decides to expand its healthcare and educational facilities.

“We have initiated the process to acquire adjacent land. We have used the entire land at our disposal, and we will need more land to add more facilities to the hospital and medical college in future,” said IGMC principal Sita Thakur. “We will have new departments and many sub-departments within a department in near future. We will need to expand to accommodate all these future developments,” the principal said.

The immediate trigger for the demand, though, is the inadequate infrastructure with the medical college. Even though the MBBS seats have doubled from 60 to 120 over the years, the infrastructure hasn’t been upgraded much. “The lecture halls and labs are too small to accommodate 120 students. There’s overcrowding in lecture halls, and it is inconvenient for both students and the faculty,” a doctor said.

Besides, there’s an acute shortage of hostel facilities. There are roughly around 800-900 MBBS and PG students, and many do not get hostel many of them do not get hostel facilities.