THE HINDU, New Delhi, October 21, 2015, 08:30 IST
Not even a week after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated under-construction Purnima Sethi Multispecialty Hospital in Kalkaji, Congress in South Delhi Municipal Corporation has alleged that the hospital did not have mandatory clearance from the fire department. The hospital also lacked a pathology lab, X-ray facilities and construction was still on in some floors, the party claimed. Of the 568 sanctioned posts for the staff only 50 had so far been hired and the hospital was “very unsafe” for patients, the Congress said.
“Patients are unsafe in the building, it is structurally not strong. BJP has inaugurated the hospital even before its completion just to gain political mileage,” said leader of Opposition, Farhad Suri. After two stone foundation laying ceremonies, the 100-bed Purnima Sethi Multi-Speciality Hospital is the first hospital for the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which took over the project from the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The Standing Committee of the MCD had first cleared the project in 2005 and it was supposed to have been completed in three years. However, construction started in 2010 and the cost went up from the initial estimate of Rs.31 crore to Rs.52 crore.
During the construction of the hospital, water from an aquifer at the site had been filling the basement and going down the drain. But, now officials said the water has been diverted through a system of channels and sent to a pit, from where it is being used by the hospital. But Mr. Suri alleges that seepage in the basement is still a problem. “The foundation of the building is weak and corporation didn’t take any proper measures.”
Congress alleged that Purnima Sethi Multispecialty Hospital in Kalkaji was inaugurated to gain political mileage
