Shivamogga: Local MP BY Raghavendra Wednesday announced the setting up of a 30-bed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at McGann district hospital to provide specialised care for premature and low-birth-weight infants.He said Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the project, with Rs 4.4 crore allotted for advanced medical equipment, including ventilators and incubators, and Rs 60 lakh for infrastructure. The RDPR department will take up construction after the tender process is completed. The facility is expected to benefit families from four to five surrounding districts.Raghavendra said a Rs 60-crore critical care ward, modelled on Kidwai Hospital, is under construction on the McGann hospital premises. He also said plans are under way to establish a Kidwai-model cancer hospital on the campus.On preventive healthcare, he said the Union govt is providing HPV vaccines to girls who have completed 14 years of age and are under 15 years to prevent cervical cancer.The MP said Braille learning devices worth Rs 23 lakh are being provided to students of the city’s Sharada School for the Blind through the CSR fund of the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. He added that ONGC has agreed to install solar lights in 1,000 villages inhabited by SC/ST communities and provide 600 sewing machines to the Byndoor constituency, noting that community-oriented works are being implemented through various organisations.
