The long cherished dream of Nagas to have their own Nagaland Medical College at Phriebagei, Kohima (NMCK) will take some more time to realise due to “harsh” weather condition in the State Capital compelling the consultants to revise their drawing of the college.
Continuous landslide has changed the entire landscape at the construction site, while frequent road blocks between Dimapur and Kohima hinder construction work as contractors often find it difficult to transport their machineries and other construction materials to the site.
The first architectural and structural drawing of the college could not be implemented because of the weather condition, for which project management consultancy (PMC) IQVIA made the second drawing as per the prevailing situation and handed it over to the contractors.
So, though the Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) department is putting all its efforts to ensure the opening of the college by 2021-22, it seems highly unlikely. The retaining wall was uprooted while some portions were washed away by landslides making the contractors to start work afresh.
Interacting with Nagaland Post, medical engineering division executive engineer Moanaro Longkumer said the H&FW department was trying to set things to normal at the site since the massive landslide messed it up.
She said experts from geology department of Nagaland University had visited the site and were studying it, even as some precautionary measures had been suggested that were being followed now. She said construction of retaining walls and foundation for hostel, sports complex and apartments had restarted and exuded confidence of speeding up the work during the coming winter months.
The foundation stone of the medical college was laid in 2014 by chief minister Neiphiu Rio in the presence of then H&FW minister Imkong L Imchen.
The upcoming NMCK will initially function from two campuses – administrative, academic, hostel complex for students and residential complex for faculty and staff at Phriebagei, and teaching hospital campus at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK). Though the Central government had approved the project in 2014 and sanctioned in 2015, construction could not take off due to “technical reasons”.
The total cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 189 crore on 90:10 funding pattern with the Centre bearing 90% of the cost and the State bearing the remaining 10%. NMCK will initially function from two campuses – teaching hospital will function from NHAK (which is 300 bedded) and the administrative unit from the college campus. The department also targets to have 500 beds by the fourth year of opening the college after which the teaching hospital will be shifted back to the medical college site.