Mega development project in Nawabshah incomplete

NAWABSHAH: Scores of mega development projects initiated during the tenure of former president Asif Ali Zardari are still lying incomplete for the last eight years, while the administration is busy preparing new multi-billion projects.

Mother and Child Hospital is one of the mega projects, which was constructed at a cost of Rs1000 million at the Qazi Ahmed Road. It was planned that the 300-bed hospital would provide medical assistance not only to the patients of district Shaheed Benazirabad but also the patents belonging to other districts of Sindh.

Qamar Chandio, the contractor of the project, told the media that 90 percent of the construction work was completed, however, owing to the paucity of funds, the work could not be completed. He said that six operation theatres, three outpatient departments and other sections were completed. He said that the hospital would be functional after the completion of remaining the 10 percent work.

On the other hand, MNA Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said that she had no trust in the doctors of the Peoples Medical Hospital following the deaths of four innocent minors due to the sub-standard precautionary measures during the measles vaccination. She said that the Mother and Child Hospital would be commissioned soon under the administration of the National Program for Protecting Child. When contacted, Professor of Medicine Dr Saleem Faiz said that the death ratio in delivery cases was much higher in the far-flung areas of the district. He said that with the completion of this project, patients of more than a dozen districts would avail themselves of the best medical facilities.

Moreover, the representatives of civil society said that the Mother and Child Hospital should be completed forthwith, adding that instead of investing in new projects, the incomplete ones should be completed first.