Aurangabad : Chikalthana hospital to open next yr

Aurangabad: The 200-bed civil hospital at Chikalthana will be operational by the end of January next year, according to deputy director of health services Vijay Kandewad.

Kandewad said that his department was planning to start the outpatient department soon after the building was handed over on October 3. However, state health minister Deepak Sawant while on his visit to the city suggested that the unit should be opened as a full-fledged hospital instead.

“The health minister wants the hospital to be inaugurated by the chief minister. As per protocol, if the chief minister is to be present, we have to ensure that everything is well-planned and the hospital is fully operational,” Kandewad said.

The health official informed that e-tendering process for procurement of equipment, furniture and other necessary articles has begun; subsequently orders will be issued for their supply.

“It will take around two months for the hospital to be equipped. Once that is complete, we will inform the health ministry to decide the date of inauguration. So, it will take until the end of January for the hospital to open,” Kandewad said.

Meanwhile, annoyed with the delay in the opening of the health facility, activists of Prahar Jan Shakti Party on Monday staged a symbolic inauguration of the hospital and called it ‘bin kamacha dawakhana’ (a useless hospital). The protest led to the detention of 24 activists. The police released them later on.