THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The work on the four proposed medical colleges --Idukki, Kasargod, Konni and Wayanad is making slow progress, putting a question mark on their completion within the set deadline and their ability to start courses on time. Of them, Idukki medical college was to start admissions from 2018-19. However, the required infrastructure facilities for a 300-bed hospital attached to the medical college are yet to be put in place. The construction of the buildings is currently on and the authorities are keen to see the work completed within the 2018-19 deadline. But the slow pace of work on the ground could push the opening of the institution to academic year 2019-20.
The medical college requires full-fledged clinical departments as the students in their second year have to undergo clinical training in orthopedics, dermatology, respiratory medicine, psychiatry, ophthalmology, ENT, casualty, clinical pathology and community medicine. During their third year, the students would require more departments and given the pace of the work, it looks unlikely that the authorities would be able to meet the deadline. According to doctors, the hospital should ideally have 700 beds when the students reach their final year.
Many multi-storey complexes would be needed to have such high bed strength in the hospital. They say one of the problems is the restrictions on high rise buildings in the 40 acre land located in ecologically sensitive areas like Idukki district. Special officer for new medical colleges Dr Ajay Kumar is slated to visit the site of the Kasargod medical college at Badiadukka to assess the work which is being carried out by state-owned consultancy KITCO. The revenue department had acquired 69 acres for the medical college.
Hostel facilities for boys, girls and nursing staff, staff quarters and infrastructure facilities will be completed during the first phase of the project. The 500-bed medical college is expected to start by 2020. The work on Konni medical college at Perinjottackal which is coming up on a 50-acre area is also progressing. The authorities claim that the work would be completed within two years but sources were skeptical of the claim. In Wayanad, the construction of road leading to the proposed medical college has run into some problem and the special officer is planning to visit the area soon to sort out the issue.
