Ramu R By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The work on constructing a multilevel car parking facility inside the Government Medical College to solve parking woes is set to begin shortly. The project to be carried out by the city corporation under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme will begin this month in front of the super-speciality block. “Boundaries need to be marked properly and two trees from the compound will be felled for the work to begin,” said Palayam Rajan, chairman, Town Planning Standing Committee. Presently, the parking lot near the super-speciality block can accommodate only 50 vehicles. Hospital authorities expressed their hope that the multilevel parking facility will be completed in six months. In addition to the parking facility being set up by the corporation, the hospital will also get two other multilevel parking facilities as part of the hospital master plan. According to Medical College authorities, the two multilevel car parking facilities which will be constructed by RAY Constructions Limited can accommodate a maximum of 200 to 250 vehicles each. “Inkel Ltd, a public-private partnership company, has been chosen as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the project,” said a hospital official. The hospital has been plagued by parking issues for several years. “An average of 30,000 patients visit the hospital daily. Of them, 6,000 to 8,000 people go to the outpatient (OP) block alone. The causalty block also gets about 40 patients in one hour so at least 20 ambulances come to the hospital at that time,” said Sharmad M S, superintendent, Medical College Hospital. Currently, the largest parking area in the hospital, the Medical College ground, can house only 600 vehicles.According to a parking official, the area is normally full on OP days. “There will be no space to park on Monday, Friday and Thursday, so we are forced to allow people to park on the roadside. An extra 1,000 vehicles can be parked if the multilevel parking materialises,” said G Muraleedharan Nair, parking official. The situation is more or less the same at the Sree Avittom Thirunal Hospital (SAT). “Only two-wheelers are allowed parking,” said a hospital staff. Other facilities Pedestrian-friendly footpaths and planting of trees are the other developments which will be carried out as part of the master plan. “A theatre complex and rerouting of Sree Avittom Thirunal Hospital block which includes the construction of an eleven-storey building behind the maternity block is also planned. New blocks will be constructed after the demolition of wards 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25,” said Sharmad. A new causalty block inside the hospital will be completed shortly. “Trauma care, ventilator, master health facilities and other life-saving equipment will be installed in the casualty by this month before its inauguration,” said Sharmad.

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