CM Jagan brings water, health to Uddanam with `785 cr projects
Inaugurates Sujaladhara project, 200-bed super-speciality hospital
image for illustrative purpose
Keeping his twin promises, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurwated the YSR Sujaladhara project at a cost of Rs 700 crore in Makarapuram. Additionally, he approved the establishment of a state-of-the-art 200-bed Dr YSR Kidney Research and Super-Speciality Hospital, with an estimated value of Rs 85 crore, in Palasa within the Uddanam region of Srikakulam district.
Both the projects were promised along with a pension of Rs 10,000 per month to the chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients by Reddy for the people of Uddanam bordering Odisha due to groundwater contamination and clinically diagnosed high incidence of CKD.
Sujaladhara project brings Vamsadhara surface water through pipelines from Hiramandalam reservoir to Uddanam. It will supply safe drinking water to 6.78 lakh people of 198,000 families in 807 villages in seven mandals of Palasa and Ichchapuram constituencies
The hospital, having three blocks in four floors, is equipped with state-of-the art medical facilities including general medicine, nephrology, urology departments, dialysis wings, ICU wards, radio diagnosis, pathology, microbiology and biochemistry laboratories, post-surgery care, CT scan. Digital X-ray and holmium laser uro-dynamic machines.
The hospital, having 375 staff members including 42 specialist doctors, 60 nurses and 60 support and Para-medical staff, will be developed as a kidney transplantation centre also in the days to come and the first kidney transplantation is likely to take place in February. Meanwhile, talks are in progress to enter into an MoU with Harvard Medical School and North Carolina University to run the hospital as a Centre of Excellence.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated the boys’ hostel at Ambedkar University campus at Etcherla and laid foundation stone for the APIIC industrial cluster at Palasa.
Addressing a huge public meeting at the Railway Grounds here on Thursday after the inauguration, the Chief Minister said that by dedicating the kidney research centre and Sujaladhara project to people, he has fulfilled his padayatra promise given at a public meeting on December 30, 2018.
He said the government is entering into MoU with Harvard Medical School and North Carolina University in running the super specialty hospital, adding that soon Markapuram in Prakasam district also will have a super-speciality hospital and kidney research centre with special nephrology and urology departments.
The super-speciality hospital will be developed as a world-class facility and nodal centre for the treatment of kidney-related ailments across the State, he said, adding that it will extend comprehensive and advanced medical care to kidney patients free of cost.
Reddy said that so far, 2,32,898 people were tested at the screening centres in Kaviti, Kanchili, Palasa, Vajrapukotturu, Ichapuram, Sompeta and Mandasa mandals and 19,532 above the age of 25 years were found to have creatinine levels above normal.
All of them are being treated with free supply of medicines and patients are also undergoing dialysis at 69 dialysis centres, he said, adding that more dialysis facilities will come up soon while semi auto analysers have been established at 18 PHCs in rural areas, five PHCs in urban areas and at six community health centres.
With the monthly pension for dialysis patients hiked to Rs 10,000 by his government from Rs 2500 given in TDP rule and with Rs, 5,000 monthly pension also being paid to non-dialysis patients, the government has been paying Rs 12.54 crore to 13,143 patients as pension every month as against Rs 76 lakh paid to 3076 patients during the TDP rule, he said.
The Chief Minister said that three phases are over out of the intended 4-phase study undertaken by the ICMR and George Institute for Global Health to have a permanent solution to the recurrence of kidney ailments in Uddanam area which was neglected by the TDP rule.
Reddy said the government spent Rs 700 crore on the Sujaladhara project for bringing Vamsadhara surface water through pipelines from Hiramandalam reservoir to Uddanam.
