Vikhroli residents identify plot for temp hospital, write to CM and BMC
The redevelopment of KMJPH is underway, with the BMC having paid ₹13.23 crore to MHADA for a plot of land adjacent to the hospital. “The tendering process for KMJPH is underway but it will take at least three to four years to construct the two 13-storey and 21-storey buildings,” said the official
MUMBAI: With the BMC failing to provide alternative healthcare facilities to Vikhroli residents after the 100-bed Krantiveer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hospital (KMJPH) in Kannamwar Nagar was pulled down five years ago, residents have now taken the task on themselves.
In a letter dated February 4 to chief minister Eknath Shinde and BMC commissioner and administrator I S Chahal, the residents have pointed out that an adjacent plot owned by MHADA, and appropriated as a playground by the Vidya Vikas Education Society, could be taken back and a temporary hospital run there. “We have sent the details of the encroached plot to the BMC and requested that alternative healthcare facilities be made available to us till such time as KMJPH is redeveloped,” said Milind Parab, a local resident who has been in the forefront of demanding health services in the area.
The redevelopment of KMJPH is underway, with the BMC having paid ₹13.23 crore to MHADA for a plot of land adjacent to the hospital. “The tendering process for KMJPH is underway but it will take at least three to four years to construct the two 13-storey and 21-storey buildings,” said the official.
It is to tide over this long period that the residents have been demanding a makeshift temporary hospital. A local residents group, ‘Amhi Vikhrolikar’ (We Vikhroli residents), undertook a chain hunger strike last year. “Despite assurances from the government, the BMC has not started the makeshift hospital,” said Parab, who was part of the hunger strike. “The Ambedkar Maternity Home was provided as an alternative but it does not have all the facilities. We end up having to rush to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar.”
A senior BMC health official, when questioned, said the civic body had been looking for space for a temporary healthcare facility on a war footing. “A few days ago, we had a meeting with the garden and market department to scout for a place,” he said. “However, the residents’ demand for alternative facilities within a three-kilometre radius is difficult to meet.”
The civic body had been pinning its hopes on the 160-bed Shushrusha Hospital, which falls within the three-km radius, but the deal did not work out. “Now since the locals have come forward with a proposal to take over the vacant plot close to the hospital, we will write to MHADA,” said the health official. “But it is still a long procedure.”
A senior official from the BMC’s S ward said they had been making alternative arrangements to the best of their ability. “We have put up containers and also arranged extra beds and facilities at the Ambedkar Maternity Hospital nearby,” he said. The official added that he was not aware of encroachment issues at the alternative site but would look into that as well.
A MHADA official said the Authority would hand over the plot to the BMC when it received the request. “The plot in question is marked as a municipal school in the DP reservation,” he said. “This means we will have to hand it over to the BMC anyway and, in fact, we have been waiting for the BMC to formally take the ground from us. It will be handed over at MHADA’s prevailing rates.”