Punjab State Cancer Institute misses June deadline

According to the principal of Government Medical College, Amritsar, which will house the institute, the first phase will be made functional by October end and equipment will be installed by December

The Punjab State Cancer Institute, which is coming up at Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, will not become operational for at least another four months.

The foundation stone of the ₹120-crore project was laid in November 2017, but even after three-and-half years, a lot of civil work of the multi-storey building at Government Medical College, Amritsar, is pending. (HT File Photo)

Minister of medical education and research Om Parkash Soni, who had earlier set June as the deadline for completion of the project, said on Monday that 90% of the work is over and the institute will be inaugurated soon.

However, according to the GMC principal, Dr Rajiv Devgan, the first phase of the building will be “hopefully” made functional by the end of October, and the equipment will be installed by December this year.

The foundation stone of the ₹120-crore project was laid in November 2017, but even after three-and-half years, a lot of civil work of the multi-storey building is pending.

“The delay was due to unfavourable circumstances created by Covid-19. Many labourers contracted the virus in the second wave, and some died too, stalling the construction,” said Dr Devgan, adding the situation has improved and almost all workers have been vaccinated.

The principal said sufficient funds are being received from the government, and the process for recruiting doctors and nurses has begun.

About the institute

The institute will be a state-of-the-art 150-bed complex that will provide world-class treatment facilities to cancer patients. It will house all the latest medical technology, including high-end linear accelerator, advanced operation centre, modular operation centre and advanced machines to execute image-guided radiation therapy.

Besides departments of surgical oncology, medical oncology, nuclear medicines and radiation oncology, it will have a special rehabilitation unit and department for palliative treatment, said Dr Devgan. “With the help of this institute, we will be able to handle three times the number of patients we’re handing right now,” he said.

Meanwhile, minister OP Soni, during a meeting on Monday, said: “Once the institute is inaugurated, patients from the region who have to go to the PGIMER, Chandigarh, and other hospitals in neighbouring states will be able to get cancer treatment in Amritsar.”