SSH for kidney patients in Uddanam region will be ready by March 2023

At a time when the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders are resorting to a war of words over the issue of patients of renal ailments, the Andhra Pradesh government appears to have put a special focus on the early completion of the super-specialty hospital and safe drinking water project proposed in the Uddanam region of Srikakulam district.

People living in seven mandals of the Uddanam region have been enduring with the issues pertaining to renal ailments since decades.

The government has reportedly asked Srikakulam Collector Shrikesh B. Lathkar to review the progress of the on-going water and hospital projects on weekly basis so that they would be ready within the stipulated time.

Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Seediri Appala Raju told The Hindu that the super-specialty hospital being constructed in Palasa town would be ready by March 2023.

“There is no paucity of funds for the hospital project proposed at an estimate cost of ₹50 crore. All bills pertaining to the project are being cleared through green channel. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has assured to release funds for the creation of all the needed infrastructure in the hospital. A kidney research centre will also be set up in the hospital,” he said.

The drinking water supply project undertaken at a cost of ₹700 crore will cater to the needs of 807 villages. “Supply of drinking water is crucial as contaminated ground water is said to be the main reason for the spread of kidney diseases among more than 35,000 people. After purification, the Vamsadhara water will be supplied from the Hiramandalam reservoir to the villages. The water project is expected to be ready by April, 2023,” he said.

The government has also decided to provide ₹10,000 pension to more eligible patients . With setting up dialysis facility in Kaviti, Sompeta, Palasa, Tekkali and Srikakulam, many patients are being provided treatment within the district. Only 31 patients of the district are going to Visakhapatnam for advanced treatment. After the completion of the hospital, those patients will also get treatment here, said the Minister. The Hindu