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Chandigarh: 3 years on, Ayush integrated hospital project awaits completion
Asserting that the project was delayed due to the Covid pandemic, senior homeopathy physician and AYUSH nodal officer Dr Manjushree said around 80% of the construction work is complete and final touches are being made.
Three years after the Centre approved a 50-bedded Ayush (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy) Hospital in Chandigarh, the integrated health care facility, which is being built in Sector 34, is still not complete.
In the first phase of the project, 25 beds will be set up and only ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, and homeopathy services will be offered at the hospital. The remaining 25 beds will be added during the second phase, and unani and siddha techniques will also be introduced.
In 2019, the Ayush department of the Chandigarh administration had provided the engineering department ₹1.5 crore for commencing construction work, and subsequently another ₹72 lakh was provided to complete the project, as per health department officials.
Asserting that the project was delayed due to the Covid pandemic, senior homeopathy physician and AYUSH nodal officer Dr Manjushree said, “Around 80% of the construction work is complete, and final touches are being made.We are working on building a boundary wall, keeper room, and parking.”
While the Sector 34 integrated hospital will be the first of its kind in Chandigarh, at present, five Ayush health and wellness centres (HWCs) are providing out-patient services across the UT. The facilities being provided at the Sector 34 HWC, which is now being upgraded to an Ayush Hospital, were temporarily shifted, with ayurveda facilities being provided in Sector 33 and homeopathy in Sector 35.
Project being fast-tracked: UT health secy
During a recent review meeting on pending healthcare projects, UT health secretary Yashpal Garg said, “The chief architect has said that the drawings for the boundary wall will be supplied within one week. The UT’s chief engineer has assured us that pending construction work will be completed within two months. Directions have been issued to fast-track the project so that people can avail the facilities”.
Yoga hall to be built at 5 Ayush HWCs
The UT administration is also planning to set up yoga halls in the five health and wellness centres in Sectors 24, 27, 37, 41, and 47. “The Ayush director will inspect all these five HWCs to carve out a space for yoga halls and where no such space is available the architect wing will suggest some modifications or find space either inside or outside the centres for yoga sessions”, Yashpal Garg added.
