MARGAO
If Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza have repeatedly promised to commission the district hospital by December, Labour Minister and Navelim MLA Avertano Furtado on Wednesday announced plans to commission the 100-bedded ESI hospital and the Navelim Primary Health Centre around Christmas time. In fact, there’s finally a ray of hope that the ESI hospital, which was inaugurated with much fanfare at the hands of former Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, will be finally commissioned before the year-end. Avertano and Labour Commissioner Agnelo Fernandes told the Goan at the ESI hospital, Margao, on Wednesday that they have set December 25 2016 as the deadline to commission the 100-bedded hospital. “We are working hard to commission the ESI hospital at the earliest. In fact, we have set December 25 as the date for the commissioning of the project,” Avertano said.
Replying to a question, Labour Commissioner Agnelo Fernandes pointed out that the purchase of medical equipment for the ESI hospital has been tendered with the centre sanctioning the funds for the purpose. “Once the equipment are procured by the GSIDC, all decks will be cleared for the commissioning of the hospital,” he said.
In the meantime, Avertano along with Director of Health Services Dr Sanjeev Dalvi inspected the 10-beeded Navelim hospital-cum-health centre at Navelim along with GSIDC officials.
The GSIDC has assured the local MLA that civil works on the ground-plus-one storey health centre building will be completed by September-end, promising to hand over the building to the Director of Health Services by October 2.
The Rs 4.7-crore health centre-cum-hospital will have provision for casualty and OPD and will be manned by two doctors. Dr Dalvi said the 10-bedded hospital will be commissioned in phases, adding that it will be ready for commissioning by December.
He promised to provide the required manpower for the health centre and also issue the necessary notification to bring various villages under its jurisdiction.
“I intend to commission the project on Christmas Day. The building will be ready by October 2 and the Director of Health has promised to depute the necessary manpower and doctors at the centre before December,” Avertano told The Goan.
