Gachibowli TIMS A Dead Duck, Laments BJP

Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Gudur Narayana Reddy on Saturday said that the establishment of the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences hospitals in Hyderabad was all talk and no action as the first TIMS hospital at Gachibowli turned out to be a "dead duck".

Reddy said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had laid the foundation stone for the construction of three more TIMS hospitals in Hyderabad - in L B Nagar, Erragadda and Alwal - nearly one year ago, on April 27, 2022.

"But unfortunately, he has forgotten about maintenance of the first TIMS at Gachibowli, which was established in 2020 with much pomp and show during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

"When launching the first TIMS at Gachibowli with a lot of fanfare, the CM and his son minister K T Rama Rao claimed that the hospital would be developed on par with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and would be a boon to the poor. 495 doctor posts were sanctioned and 1,500 beds were made available. Nurses were hired on contract. But as soon as the pandemic subsided, the government forgot about the maintenance and the development of the hospital. The recruitment of doctors was not taken up, and the nurses were just removed. However, the CM and the minister announced the construction of three more TIMS hospitals in Hyderabad, just to get news bytes and visibility again," Reddy alleged.

"The Gachibowli TIMS hospital was considered the first major initiative in the medical sector of the State after its formation. Now it is in shambles, and has limited itself to treating only outpatients. There is not even a single in-patient in that hospital. Crores of rupees which were spent on the hospital have gone waste," Reddy lamented.

He added that the State government had allocated Rs 2,600 crore for the construction of the next three TIMS hospitals, but so far there was no progress in their construction, either.

The BJP leader said that it had become a habit for the BRS government to make tall promises and forget them as soon as their purpose was served.