By IANS,
Greater Noida : Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday laid the foundation stone of an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) referral hospital here which will cater to the country’s security and intelligence personnel and their families, with the potential beneficiaries being estimated at 33 lakh.
The hospital, which is spread across nine acres, promises to be a boon for the lakhs of employees and families of the central paramilitary forces, the National Security Guard, the Intelligence Bureau and the Assam Rifles.
“A person fit in mind and body can discharge his duties well. So, these brave security personnel need the best medical care,” Chidambaram told reporters.
“This will serve as a tertiary hospital and will cater to 33 lakh personnel and families of the security forces,” he added.
According to ITBP, it is proposed to extend the hospital’s facilities to serving and retired Indian Police Services (IPS) officers and retired personnel of the central paramilitary forces, taking the beneficiaries to around 50 lakh.
“This hospital is a great leap forward for all security forces and would be a blessing in the times to come. It will also bring us at par with the military, which already has such hospitals,” ITBP Director General R.K. Bhatia said.
Expected to be functional within 30 months, the hospital would have 200 beds, 30 doctors – including five super specialists – 11 specialists, 13 medical officers and a dentist. It would provide round-the-clock emergency services.
The hospital is a part of the systematic upgradation and modernization programme of the home inistry.