Chief Minister Hemant Soren has instructed Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni to revive the 205-bed Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI) defunct hospital at Sindri.

The district administration is already considering a proposal to restart the hospital with help of the Sindri-based Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL), and Associated Cement Company (ACC).

A district administration team led by Dhanbad Sub Divisional Officer Raj Maheshwaram visited the hospital on July 26 and August 13 to check if it could be used as Covid treatment facility. But the existing building is in bad shape and was deemed not suitable for the purpose.

HURL and ACC Sindri presented a proposal for the revival plan for making the hospital ready for long term usage during the second visit of Maheshwaram on August 13.

Speaking with The Telegraph Online, Dhanbad hotelier Amitesh Sahay, district president of JMM’s traders cell of JMM, and a close friend of Hemant, said, “I met the chief minister earlier this week and proposed the revival plan. He immediately instructed Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni to make provisions for funds.”

He added that a proposal was also put in to name the revived hospital after three-time Dhanabd MP, the late AK Roy.

Nagendra Sharma, Manager (Human Resource), FCI Sindri, said, “We are ready both for joint venture proposals along with ACC and FCI as well as our own proposal for re-launch of the hospital. A team from the Mission Hospital, Durgapur has also visited the hospital on our invitation, but the FCI’s nod is crucial for the revival.”

“We are awaiting the district administration response for the hospital revival as per a joint venture proposal of hospital revival and also wrote a letter to FCI management seeking their nod for the hospital revival” said Sharma.

The district administration is already considering a proposal to restart the hospital with help of the Sindri-based Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL), and Associated Cement Company (ACC). Gautam Dey

In-charge General Manager FCI Sindri, Ravi Kant Prasad said, “We have not yet received any proposals for reviving the hospital from either the state government or the district administration. If any proposal is presented, the final decision will be taken by the Ministry of Fertilizer.”

Established in 1952, the hospital was inaugurated by then union health minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. During its heyday, the facility received over 2000 visitors daily, and was the biggest hospital in the coal belt. It also served as the referral hospital for several other medical centres from surrounding areas like the Chasnala Hospital of BCCL.

The hospital was equipped with a major and minor operation theatre, a pathological laboratory, radiological facilities, a physiotherapy center, along with separate OPDs for pediatrics, maternity, dental, gynaecology, dermatology, medicine, ENT, and ophthalmology. It was shut down in March 2003, two months after the closure of the factory on December 31, 2002.

A former doctor of the medicine department said that altogether eight doctors were working in the medicine department alone when the hospital was closed.