Srinagar, Nov 4: After years of delay, the much-awaited All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Awantipora in Pulwama is set to begin functioning.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda will inaugurate the OPD block of the premier tertiary-care facility, and review progress of Phase-2 and Phase-3 work.
The OPD services will start soon, with support of a fully-functional diagnostic block.
The Health Minister is scheduled to visit J&K on Thursday.
He will visit AIIMS Awantipora to hold a review meeting on the progress of the Institute.
“The OPD block will be inaugurated and dedicated to people of J&K,” the sources said.
The Health Minister is also scheduled to visit ARSH Institute of Health Sciences and Technology and interact with students there.
Speaking to Greater Kashmir, Executive Director AIIMS Kashmir Dr Sachidananda Mohanty said the institute was being made fully functional for the public on a fast track.
“For the beginning, OPD services will be started in December this year,” he said.
Dr Mohanty said the retrofitted hospital structure will be available for being utilized for patient services by the end of this month.
The start of services marks a significant milestone for a project that has witnessed repeated delays since its conception.
While it had raised expectations of improved access to specialised healthcare in Kashmir, its never-ending journey to completion had bred resentment among local population, particularly patients from south Kashmir who currently have to travel to Srinagar for tertiary-level treatment.
AIIMS Awantipora has been developed at a revised estimated cost of over Rs 2160 crore, was sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
The institute is envisaged as a 750-bed tertiary-care facility that will have specialised medical services.
It is also being looked upto for augmenting medical education and research infrastructure in Kashmir
In September last year, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said that the institute was in progress and stated that it will become fully functional by the end of 2026.
He had indicated that OPD services and MBBS classes would start earlier.
However, no MBBS seats were allocated to the Institute this year.
While inpatient services, the CM had hoped, would become operational by November-December 2026, now the OPD’s are to be started over this time frame.
More recently, a review by the Pulwama district administration had stressed the need to operationalise the OPD and essential services in a phased manner, rather than awaiting full completion of the project for making a start.
Officials at AIIMS Awantipora said the institute comprises 57 buildings, of which several structures were still undergoing construction.
Phase-II works, including academic and allied infrastructure, were targeted for completion by November-end.
Other major components under Phase-III are scheduled for completion by June 2027.
The administration had also emphasised that laboratory and diagnostic services should become functional alongside the OPD.
This will ensure that patients have access to essential investigations from the outset.
