362-bed trauma centre to be ready by May 31: PWD

New Delhi: Delhi will get a 362-bed trauma centre at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri by May 31 as the Public Works Department (PWD) is finishing the last leg of work at the medical facility, officials said.

According to officials, this will be the biggest trauma centre among Delhi government hospitals.

The hospital has missed multiple deadlines, however, the officials said that the PWD will finish the work by May 31.

‘The construction work has been completed. We are finishing the electrical fittings and last-minute work. The hospital will be completed by May and will be handed over to the health department,’ an official said.

The construction work of the trauma centre started in September 2019 after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal laid the foundation stone.

The hospital currently has 300 beds.

The official said that the hospital was supposed to be completed in 2021 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction work was delayed.

Then the deadline was pushed to 2022. ‘Only a few months after the construction started, we were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and workers left. Even after the restrictions were lifted, there were delays caused due to the curbs implemented under GRAP to control pollution in Delhi. Now that the construction work is complete, we do not anticipate further delays in finishing the minor works,’ the official added.