Tripura: Rs 189 crore for Gomati district hospital, Udaipur SDH expansion

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has laid the foundation stones for three health infrastructure projects in Gomati district with a combined estimated cost of Rs 189 crore, the state government said.

The ceremony was held on the premises of Tripura Sundari Sub-Divisional Hospital in Udaipur on Wednesday, October 28, according to an official account of the event. Before it, Saha and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy took part in the Bhoomi Pujan for the sub-divisional hospital's expansion.

The three projects

• Gomati District Hospital expansion: about Rs 142 crore, the largest share, to add capacity at the district's main hospital.
• Tripura Sundari Sub-Divisional Hospital, Udaipur: about Rs 46.40 crore for expansion.
• Block Public Health Unit: about Rs 60 lakh, to be set up at the Udaipur sub-divisional hospital.

The government has not yet announced bed numbers or completion timelines for the projects.

What the Chief Minister said

Saha said better healthcare was the right of every citizen and that health was one of his government's priority areas, adding that there would be "no compromise" on it. He said the state was building up facilities at every level, from primary health centres to sub-divisional, district and referral hospitals.

He said development works worth about Rs 1,500 crore were inaugurated or had their foundation stones laid in the last financial year, and works worth about Rs 1,300 crore so far in the current year, including around Rs 260 crore around this year's Durga Puja.

The Chief Minister also spoke about Udaipur's religious and historical importance. He noted that the Tripureshwari (Tripura Sundari) temple complex had been redeveloped under the Centre's PRASAD scheme, that a replica of the 51 Shakti Peethas is being built in the town, and that an Ayurvedic college has started at Tepania. The government is also developing satellite townships in Agartala, Dharmanagar and Udaipur.

The programme was attended by the Sabhadhipati of Gomati Zilla Parishad, the chairman of Udaipur Municipal Council, Health Secretary Kiran Gitte, the district Superintendent of Police and the Chief Medical Officer.

The announcement follows the recent opening of an 18-bed ICU and a Central Sterile Services Department in the Super Speciality Block of Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital, part of the state's push to reduce the need for patients to travel outside Tripura for treatment. Tripura's urban local body elections are due in November.