MARGAO
There’s a ray of hope that the defunct NUSI hospital at Cuncolim may be revived into a Out Patient Department (OPD) by the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) once curtains come down on the ongoing arbitration proceedings.
General secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) Milind Kandalgaonkar, who is in Goa to attend a get-together of seafarers and their families on Thursday conceded that the NUSI hospital building is lying in a bad shape.
He, however, has hastened to add that NUSI is committed to revive the hospital building into an OPD for the benefit of the seafaring community and their family members.
Milind sought to refute reports that the land in question, which plays host to the NUSI hospital, has been disposed of. “There’s no truth in such reports. They are totally baseless. NUSI could not utilize the hospital building because of the pending arbitration between NUSI and Wokardt hospitals. Once the arbitration proceedings come to an end, NUSI will revive the hospital project into an OPD for the benefit of the seafarers”, he said.
When his attention was drawn to report that the people of Cuncolim are demanding that the Hospital land be returned back to the people if it is not put to the intended use, Milind said it’s just a year that he has taken over the reigns of NUSI as its general secretary.
“It’s because of the arbitration proceedings, NUSI cannot utilize the land in question. Our new team is working closely to ensure that the arbitration proceedings come to an end at the earliest so that the imposing building and the land is put to use to open an OPD”, he said.
It’s now close to eight years that the NUSI hospital, which was opened by NUSI at Panzorconne-Cuncolim, for the benefit of the seafaring community and their families, was shut down around 2015. In fact, there’s been a consistent demand amongst the seafaring community, including the Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI) that NUSI revive the health services at the massive and imposing hospital building.
Demands are also being made in Cuncolim for the return of the land to its owners if NSUI does not intend to put the land to effective use by reviving the health services for the locals.
