Mechanised laundry to come Up at Gazole, boosting hospital hygiene across 3 districts
Malda: The Health Department has taken an initiative to set up a mechanised laundry unit at Gazole in Malda district, a project expected to significantly improve hospital hygiene across three districts of North Bengal. For this purpose, around two bighas of land (60 decimals) along National Highway 512 in Gazole block has been identified and recently handed over to the Health Department by the Public Works Department (PWD).
According to official sources, the total cost of the project is estimated to be over Rs 20 crore. In the first phase, approval of Rs 9 crore has already been granted.
The project will be implemented in phases, with multiple advanced machines to be installed once the infrastructure is ready. Once operational, the mechanised laundry will cater to hospitals in Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts. Used hospital linen, including bed sheets and clothing, will be transported to the Gazole unit, cleaned through automated processes and then sent back to the respective hospitals.
Gazole Block Land and Land Reforms Officer Biswajit Roy confirmed the land transfer and said: “About 60 decimals of land under the PWD have been handed over to the Health Department. We have been informed that a mechanised laundry will be set up there, where hospital-used clothes will be cleaned automatically.”
The Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), Malda, Sudipta Bhaduri, said the project is being undertaken under the supervision of Malda Medical College and Hospital. “The mechanised laundry is a Health Department initiative. Hospitals of North and South Dinajpur, along with Malda, will be linked to it. Just like railway linen is centrally cleaned, hospital linen will be sent to Gazole and returned after proper washing,” he said. The responsibility of constructing the laundry building has been assigned to the Public Works Department. Several rooms will be built to house different machines and support infrastructure. However, officials said the detailed design and layout are still under discussion. PWD junior engineer Sudhin Bandyopadhyay stated, “There are some trees on the land that need to be removed. Several preparatory works are pending.
The construction will begin in phases in the coming days.” The CMOH added that after the first phase, an additional Rs 10–15 crore would be required. “We have received the land and most procedural formalities are complete. There are some access-related issues at the entry point, which the local administration is trying to resolve,” he said. Once completed, the project is expected to ensure centralised, hygienic and efficient laundering of hospital linen, reducing dependency on scattered facilities and improving overall patient care across the three districts.
