The foundation stone for two new medical colleges — one at Piduguralla in Palnadu and the other at Bapatla — was laid remotely by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday.
Gurazala MLA Kasu Mahesh Reddy said that the move to establish a 500-bedded hospital would fill a massive gap in public healthcare facility in the region. The lack of hospital beds in Palnadu region is forcing many to go all the way to Guntur, which 150 km away.
With the setting up of a new medical college and teaching hospital at Piduguralla, people would be able to access quality medical care, he said.
Narsaraopet MP Lavu Srikrishnadevarayulu thanked Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy and appealed to him to upgrade the 30-bedded area hospital to 100 beds as the region is located at a fair distance from major towns.
District Collector Vivek Yadav said that the new medical facility would help people, particularly those living in tribal hamlets, as quality medical care is out of their reach.
At Bapatla, Minister for Home and Disaster Management M. Sucharita, MLA Kona Raghupati, MP Nandigam Suresh and Joint Collector A.S. Dinesh Kumar were present.
Mr. Raghupati said that the new medical college would help people in six Assembly constituencies in the coastal region and added that 50 acres of land had been acquired already.
