Ferozepur PGI satellite center construction to begin soon

Tender for construction of ₹233.55-crore Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) satellite centre in Ferozepur has been floated with a timeline of 24 months. The construction of the 100-bed specialised facility will start in December and it would cater to the medical needs of Ferozepur and adjoining border areas.

“Union home minister Amit Shah has been monitoring the progress of the project, which would be instrumental in ensuring quality health services to our citizens,” said Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar in his tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.

The much-hyped PGI satellite centre was approved in 2013 by the UPA government to boost healthcare facilities in the border region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of PGI satellite centre in Ferozepur on January 5 last year, but the PM had to return due to the farmers’ protest. Later, Shah, while addressing the locals during the recently held state polls, promised to virtually lay the foundation of this project on Baisakhi, but the event wasn’t held and another event scheduled for July 23 this year also got delayed. Later on again Shah was scheduled to inaugurate it after attending the North Zone Council (NZC) meeting at Amritsar on September 26 but it was again cancelled even though Shah will chair the NZC meeting that will be attended by the chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, besides the lieutenant governors of the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and the Chandigarh administrator along with their delegations.

Meanwhile, a credit war among various politicians commenced on Monday. While Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal in a release claimed it because of his persistent efforts to kick start the PGI centre here had finally borne fruit with the tenders being floated.

BJP leader Rana Gurmit Sodhi said,“It’s a tribute by BJP to its dedicated stalwart leader Kamal Sharma, who made untiring efforts for the PGI satellite centre in Ferozepur.” Hindustan Times