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The undue delay in commissioning the new maternity and childcare centre at Manapparai has raised concerns among residents, who say that the prolonged wait is depriving mothers and infants of much-needed medical facilities. The maternity and childcare centre has been established at the District Headquarters Government Hospital in Manapparai. It is a 50-bed facility with modern infrastructure, including state-of-the-art operation theatres, a neonatal intensive care unit, a post-operative ward, a labour ward, a scan room, emergency care, a laboratory, rooms for staff nurses, and various other facilities. The construction work was undertaken by the Public Works Department starting in November 2023 at a cost of ₹10 crore, and the facility was inaugurated in May this year. However, despite repeated requests from the public, the centre has remained non-operational for five months. Residents allege lack of coordination between departments have stalled its commissioning. “The building is ready, the equipment is in place, but no one is allowed to use it. Expectant mothers still have to travel over 40 km to Tiruchi,” said K. Mohamed Hussain, Manapparai town secretary of the Communist Party of India. A senior health official, however, said steps were being taken to open the centre soon. Final approvals, equipment setup, and sanitisation of the operation theatres are currently in progress. The facility is expected to be thrown open to the public within two weeks. The facility is intended to serve patients from Manapparai and surrounding areas, significantly reducing the need for long-distance travel to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) in Tiruchi. Sources said MGMGH receives at least 350 pregnant women every month, mainly from outskirts of the city and from neighbouring districts, and handles approximately 40 to 50 deliveries daily. Once operational, the new centre is expected to significantly improve maternal and child healthcare services in Manapparai and nearby villages while easing the burden on MGMGH Tiruchi.
