MAPUSA: Finally, after almost 13 years, the Siolim Primary Health Centre is likely to shift to a new building in the next four months.
This centre is located in the heart of Siolim village. However people were hesitant to visit the centre due to lack of basic facilities. One of the major issues is the shortage of space. As a result it does not allow all the facilities to be under one roof.
Though it is located in Siolim, the PHC caters to the locals, tourists as well as migrants. Also, people from nearby villages of Morjim, Agarwada visit this centre. However, with the shortage of basic facilities, villagers are forced to visit the District Hospital in Mapusa.
Since Siolim also has the famous Vagator and Anjuna beaches in the vicinity, many tourists who stay in Siolim and move around, visit this center for any medical attention.
Since the space at the PHC was not sufficient, the government started to put up a new building prior to 2010 and was supposed to be operational by 2010 but it took more than 13 years for the structure to get ready.
Sources said the new building will provide all the facilities to the people since it will be upgraded to a higher level. The new building is a ground plus one structure where the ground floor will have a pharmacy and OPD while the conference hall and offices will be located on the first floor.
Sources also said that on an average 150 patients visit this centre daily and around three to four thousand patients are cared for every month.
“Siolim PHC caters to the whole of Siolim constituency as well as tourists. Also, people from nearby villages of Morjim and Agarwada which are located across the border visit this centre. For several years people were demanding for the upgrade as the existing building faced space congestion. People waited for so many years for this building but now they have to wait only for another four months for the building to be operational full-fledged,” Delilah Lobo MLA said.