Tshering Namgyal | Mongar
The hospital construction in Autsho, Lhuentse has been delayed by over a year.
The 10-bedded hospital should have been completed early this year and supposed to open by March.
The contractor was given a second deadline extension considering the pandemic situation in the country.
District Health Officer, Ugyen Dorji, said the hospital should be ready and operational by the beginning of 2023.
Ugyen Dorji said about 90 percent of the work has been completed.
The construction packages include the main office block with a patient kitchen, units for X-ray, dental and eye and doctor’s quarter.
The construction of a 6-unit staff quarter was awarded to another contractor in a different package who completed the work early this year.
According to locals, the contractor should have ensured a timely supply of materials.
The issue was raised at the meeting with the prime minister recently. The delay, officials said, was affecting the health sector’s APA score.
Jamyang Seldon, 40, from Umling under Tsaenkhar gewog said the hospital would bring reduction for the people and benefit them economically.
She said women have to go all the way to Mongar for post-pregnancy follow-ups like ultrasound and X-ray and others which is very expensive.
The hospital is expected to benefit the people from four gewogs of lower Lhuentse and two gewogs of Mongar.
