Kalpetta: Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has urged the state government to expedite the process of identifying land for setting up a critical care block at the Kalpetta Government General Hospital, using the ₹23.75 crore sanctioned under the Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PMABHIM).

Amid the ongoing crisis in specialised healthcare services in Wayanad, Priyanka suggested that suitable land could be identified within the 64 acres of Elstone Estate near Kalpetta town, which had earlier been acquired for the proposed Wayanad Township project aimed at rehabilitating survivors of the Mundakkai–Chooralmala landslide.

A statement from Priyanka Gandhi’s office said it was disappointing that the project, sanctioned in 2021–22, had not yet been implemented and was now facing fresh hurdles, with the scheme set to expire in the 2025–26 financial year. She urged Health Minister Veena George to complete land verification and secure necessary approvals without delay, stressing that Wayanad must not lose this vital project given its acute need for advanced critical care facilities.

Although a government medical college was established in Wayanad, its permanent campus site lies near Iritty on the district border with Kannur, while the existing facilities are merely an upgraded version of the former district hospital. Priyanka’s demand gains significance amid growing complaints over the college’s inadequate infrastructure and lack of critical care facilities.

The MP also noted that during the recent DISHA (District Development Coordination Committee) meeting in Kalpetta, National Health Mission officials informed her that suitable land had already been identified at Elstone Estate for the critical care block, though certain procedures were still pending. She reiterated her call for the state government to fast-track land identification, verification, and approval processes to move the project forward.

Once established, the critical care unit is expected to save many lives, as several accident victims currently die en route to Kozhikode Medical College — the nearest government facility with advanced critical care — due to heavy traffic along the Wayanad Ghat Road. The project is particularly crucial for Wayanad’s agrarian and tribal communities, many of whom cannot afford treatment at private super-speciality hospitals.