Karnataka - Raichur   

Raichur medical college opening may be put off by a year

D.K. Kishan Rao

SLOW PACE: The government medical college building in Raichur.

Raichur: The opening of the government medical college in Raichur may be postponed for one more year. Civil works are going on at a slow pace, while construction of hostels for boys and girls is still in the beginning stage. The work on the staff quarters is still at the excavation level.

The Government is facing difficulties in appointing teachers. Qualified doctors have not filed applications for teacher posts though the district administration issued notifications twice last year.

The Government has also not released funds for civil works. A sum of Rs. 20 crores is the estimate for the college building with four main blocks on the ground floor, including the civil structure on the first and the second floors, two hostel buildings and astaff quarters.

But the Government has released only Rs. 5 crores. Of this, Rs. 4.50 crores has been spent to achieve about 25 per cent of the targeted work. It is likely that the civil works will be suspended from next month if funds are not released immediately.

As per the norms of the Medical Council of India (MCI), for starting a medical college, the Government should complete the construction of the college building and hostel buildings and appoint the staff before seeking an inspection of the site. In addition, it has to keep ready medical equipment and create other facilities such as staff quarters before seeking permission for starting classes.

In fact, the Government promised the MCI that the civil work on the ground floor and a library on the first floor will be completed by March 2006.

At this stage, the commitments made by the Government seem to a mere promise.

Though the contractor concerned started work in July last under the supervision of the Public Works Department, he has completed work till the lintel level only.

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Raichur medical college opening may be put off by a year

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