As the deadlock for the relocation of NDMC’s lone Charak Palika Hospital (CPH) at Moti Bagh continues, the civic agency has now decided to renovate the entire hospital at its existing location itself. As a part of a major overhaul, the hospital is not only set to get additional beds but also a sprawling parking lot along with other facilities.
More than five years have lapsed since NDMC conceived the ambitious plan of shifting the hospital to a more conveniently-located veterinary hospital at Shantipath, but the same has been stuck for want of permission from the land and Development Office (l&DO). Hence, the agency has now decided to fully renovate the existing infrastructure and premises of the hospital at Moti Bagh.
The OPD block of the hospital will be expanded till the hospital boundary to accommodate the extra departments. For this, the agency will demolish the old incinerator building. Besides, a new parking space will be created at the back of the hospital. “The entire building will get an overall facelift and it shall be disabled-friendly. We are also planning to make it fully air-conditioned. Eco-friendly lighting will be used,” said a senior NDMC official. The roads would be widened and new gates will be installed, added the official.
The number of beds will be increased to 200 and the council is making a provision to depute manpower which could serve the extended hospital. “At present, CPH has 158 beds and an increase in the same was the need-of-the-hour. The hospital, over the years, has been overwhelmingly in demand. The crowd is unmanageable at times. The renovation will help to ease out the pressure,” said another official.
When asked about the status of the agency’s plan to shift to its veterinary hospital, the NDMC replied, “There has been no headway in it. It’s not just the vet hospital, the plan also includes taking over some of the quarters in the vicinity. The main issue is that we are not getting permission to demolish them. So we decided to reconstruct CPH where it is and leave this to future development,” said the official.
The Charak Palika Hospital is in Moti Bagh, but the nearest bus stop is 800 metres away. Moreover, no public transport is available to the hospital from the Ring Road. The CPH was first built in the early 60s. After its inauguration, several wings were added over the years.