Palampur: 6 years on, Thural hospital awaits completion

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, April 22

The 100-bed Civil Hospital building, which is under construction at Thural about 30 km from here in Kangra district, has been awaiting completion for quite some time. It, however, seems unlikely that the building would see the light of day anytime soon as the project has been left

midway by the Public Works Department for the last year and a half due to the non-availability of funds.

The hospital in Thural was proposed to bring the best possible health services to residents of the Changer area, cutting down their travel time to avail such services at Palampur in cases of emergency.

The construction of the hospital building was sanctioned by the BJP government in 2018. Initially, Rs 4.62 crore was earmarked for the construction of the four-storey building and, later, the government granted technical sanction for the same amount.

The construction of the building was to be completed within 18 months. Former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had laid the foundation stone of the building.

Besides the 100-bed indoor facility, there was a proposal to install ultrasound and CT scan machines, along with the latest lab in the hospital. The government had already sanctioned the posts of 12 doctors here, and a few had even joined. Sullah MLA Vipin Singh Parmar said with the change in government in 2022, the new government discontinued the release of funds, stopping the construction of the building.

“It was meant to provide relief to the general public. Earlier, critical patients from the Changer area had to travel over 30-40 km to reach the Palampur Civil Hospital in case of emergencies. During the BJP government, liberal funds were sanctioned for this project. However, the new Congress government had put this project on hold,” Parmar added. A senior officer of the PWD, when contacted by The Tribune, said the department had sent a detailed project report (DPR) for administrative approval of the pending works, but no funds were released during the past year.

The contractor had left the construction midway as the PWD had failed to release outstanding payments.

“We were very happy that we won’t have to travel all the way to Palampur for the treatment of small ailments, saving patients in emergency,” a local said. According to area residents, they had been seeking answers from local Congress leaders, but to no avail.

“No one seems to know anything about the abandonment of the project,” they lament.

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