Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Nov 15: After a gap of around eight years, the construction work of 130-bed earthquake resistant building at Valley’s lone tertiary care maternity hospital—Lal Ded in Srinagar is set to resume soon.
An official said that all bottlenecks in the construction of this earthquake resistant block have been removed and the work is expected to resume soon.
He said that there were some issues that were raised but all the stakeholders were consulted and taken into confidence and now construction work will resume soon.
Pertinently, the foundation stone of this additional block was laid by then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in 2016.
Officials said that the plinth of the block was laid soon after the foundation stone was laid but it later faced repeated delays and no work was done after that.
They said that construction of the building was taken up by Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC), adding that after the merger of JKPCC, now the R&B is the new executive agency, who are expected to resume work soon.
The officials said that this building will be an earthquake resistant building and this is its specialty as Jammu and Kashmir falls in seismic Zone-V.
The 130-bed block is funded by the World Bank under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP).
An official of the LD hospital said that with the completion of this additional block and installation of proper infrastructure, LD hospital that has been witnessing a huge rush of patients can cater more patients. He said that with enhanced infrastructure, the patients will get better services.
