Guntur: In what could be a great blessing for everyone, work of the prestigious Mother and Child Healthcare (MCH) unit in the Government General Hospital (GGH) is set to begin soon. The MCH unit will be developed as a one-stop super-speciality hospital for the health needs of pregnant woman and infants in AP and will be developed with a cost of Rs 65 crore.District collector Kona Sasidhar took personal initiative to clear the hurdles for the prestigious project and persisted upon the members of the Guntur Medical College Alumni of North America (GMCANA) to support the project. To make the project into reality, Sasidhar went all the way to Atlanta to meet the members of GMCANA at the biennial conference and convinced them to join hands with Andhra Pradesh government in developing the MCH unit. Although the GMCANA had agreed to extend financial assistance for Rs 30 crore long back, it did not sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government citing objections over the design of the project.Two years ago, when the original designs were created by the Andhra Pradesh Medical Services Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC), their blueprint lacked parking lot facilities. The representatives of the GMCANA insisted on a separate parking area at the cellar of the structure to handle the vehicular traffic in the hospital. However, APMSIDC refused to budge citing the increase in the cost. It was at this juncture, the GMCANA members thought of backing out of the project.Taking a serious note of prestigious project hanging in balance from past three years, collector Sasidhar swung into action and discussed with the senior officials to set the things right. He convinced the state government about the need to give a serious look into the objections raised by the GMCANA and got the structural designs changed. This also saw a new parking lot being adjusted in the layout as per the GMCANA requirements.Sasidhar made a trip to the United States last week and cleared the apprehensions of the alumni members of the Guntur Medical College. “They are very positive to join the project and have already donated Rs 10 crore immediately at the Atlanta session. The members of GMCANA have promised to sign the MoU shortly paving way for the launch of the works,” Sasidhar told TOI after his return from the US on Friday. He said that old students of Guntur Medical College (GMC) have a special bond with their motherland and institute which has made them reach pinnacles in the life. Sasidhar further added that they would call tenders from next week and are hopeful of launching the works in October. “We will complete the slabs of cellar, ground and first floor within six months and handover the project to GMCANA to develop the remaining floors,” Sasidhar. The members of GMCANA have also agreed to sponsor Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) kits w hich would be supplied to all the schools and colleges to train the students to handle the medical emergencies till the patient is rushed to the hospital.“We are happy that the district collector Sasidhar single-handedly clinched a prestigious project to Guntur. At one point, our members wanted to retreat from the project as they were fed up with the red-tapism and lackadaisical attitude of the administration. However, Sasidhar completely changed the situation by taking the things into his hands. Now, we are confident that we can gift one of the best healthcare units to the state,” Dr Bala Bhaskara Rao, India coordinator of GMCANA said.

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