Gandhinagar: On the first anniversary of the AI 171 crash on Friday, Gujarat govt announced educational and healthcare projects worth Rs 547 crore at the new mental hospital compound — the crash site of the ill-fated plane.The govt said that apart from eight new hostel blocks whose construction was announced earlier, a paraplegia and spine hospital, rehabilitation centre, physiotherapy college, and hostel accommodation for 500 students will be set up. In addition, a new state-of-the-art food and drugs laboratory, and a modern canteen for 800 students will also be constructed at the site, state health minister Praful Pansheriya said.The estimated cost of the project to construct the paraplegia and spine hospital, rehabilitation centre, physiotherapy college, and hostel accommodation for 500 students will be Rs 295 crore and will cover and area of 25,000 square metres, the govt said.The cost of construction of eight new G+7 (ground plus seven floors) hostel blocks has also been upgraded from the earlier estimated Rs 105 crore to Rs 192 crore, and the project will now house 510 units for married postgraduate students.An official statement said that the proposed new food and drugs laboratory at the site will be a G+7 facility built to NABL standards and will cover an area of 3,100 square metres of land. The project is estimated to cost Rs 50 crore. The govt also said that the new modern canteen will be constructed at a cost of Rs 10 crore.State health minister Praful Pansheriya said that after the air crash, temporary accommodation and food arrangements were made for affected students and families. “The state govt now has resolved to redevelop the entire area into a modern centre for healthcare and learning. After removing the buildings damaged in the plane crash at the new mental campus, the construction of new projects will begin,” he said.The minister added, “These projects will transform the new mental campus into one of the state’s leading centres for healthcare, research, and medical education, offering modern facilities to students, healthcare professionals, and the general public.”
