Vijayawada/ New Delhi: The Vijayawada Government General Hospital (GGH) in NTR district is set to witness a major upgrade in medical infrastructure owing to the efforts of Member of Parliament Kesineni Sivanath. Advanced medical equipment for key departments such as Cardiology, Ophthalmology and Radiology is expected to be provided to the hospital in the near future.

On Wednesday, MP Kesineni Sivanath met Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri at his residence in New Delhi and submitted a detailed proposal seeking financial support under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. He requested an allocation of Rs 2.80 crore from public sector undertakings under the Petroleum Ministry, including ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) and Oil India Limited (OIL).

Explaining the need for the proposal, the MP said that Vijayawada GGH caters not only to rural areas of NTR district but also to economically weaker sections, and has been witnessing a steady rise in the number of patients.

The proposal includes procurement of advanced equipment for theCardiology department such as a treadmill test machine, 2D Echo, pacemaker pulse generator for bedside TPI procedures and multi-parameter monitors with IABP support. For the Ophthalmology department, equipment such as visual field analyser, optical coherence tomography, non-contact tonometer and phacoemulsification machine have been proposed. The Radiology department is expected to receive a 1000 mA digital radiography X-ray unit.

MP Kesineni Sivanath expressed confidence that if these medical devices are provided through CSR funds of petroleum PSUs, the quality of treatment at Vijayawada GGH would significantly improve, benefiting people from all seven Assembly constituencies in NTR district. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri reportedly responded positively to the MP’s request.