The woes of Kasaragod district over the lack of specialist medical facilities with respect to COVID-19 may finally get resolved as the Tata Group is funding the construction of a new hospital with 540 beds, which is to be built in three months.
The hospital will be built with the Corporate Social Responsibility fund of the Tata Group, reports Times of India.
The new hospital, that will be constructed using prefabrication technology, will come up at the Thekkil village in the Chemnad gram panchayat. In a prefabrication technology, parts of the structure that are already built are assembled at the construction site. The technique aids in fast construction.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stated two days ago that the Tata Group will build a medical facility in the district. On Tuesday, the district also inaugurated its new COVID-19 care hospital with 100 isolation beds and 10 intensive care units.
District Collector Dr D Sajith Babu said that the hospital is a gift from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan.
“If it goes as planned, we can complete the construction of the hospital in two to three months. It will be constructed using pre-fab technology. In the Thekkil village, near the Thekkil bridge, there is a 15-acre plot of revenue land, and the hospital will be coming up there. Work will start from tomorrow (Wednesday),” a visibility elated District Collector can be seen saying in a Facebook video.
The Collector also requested people in the region to come forward to help the district administration in the endeavour.
“I have a request. We need help with more human power. Heard that there are many contractors in that area where the hospital will be built, we need your help. There are some issues regarding land levelling in the plot. Your JCB’s (earthmovers) are not being used for any work at present, so help out the district administration. If so, we can start work from tomorrow. This is a gift to our district,” said the Collector.
He also said that the district already has a total of 930 isolation beds. “There is nothing to worry about, we are prepared,” he added.
Kasaragod has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Kerala. As of Tuesday, 131 people are under treatment in the district.
Compared to the other districts of Kerala, Kasaragod district lacks super speciality hospitals and other expert medical amenities. The people in the border taluks of the district had been depending on Karnataka’s Mangaluru for expert medical treatment since long.
With state borders being closed due to imposition of nation-wide lockdown, Karnataka had denied entry to Kasaragod people seeking medical aid in Mangaluru, which has now been lifted after Centre's intervention, as directed by the Supreme Court. According to reports, more than 10 people have lost their lives because of the delay in getting treatment. The issue was resolved on Tuesday with Karnataka agreeing to allow non-COVID-19 patients to cross the border to avail treatment at Mangaluru hospitals.
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