Kusamma Shambhu Shetty Memorial Haji Abdullah Government Mother and Child Hospital Grapples with Severe Maintenance Deficiencies
- MLA Yashpal Suvarna Visits Hospital, Reviews Deficiencies, and Holds Discussions with Officials
Udupi: The six-storey, fully equipped Government Mother and Child Hospital building in Udupi, constructed in a Dubai style by the BRS Life Group, owned by NRI entrepreneur B.R. Shetty, has become a major maintenance burden for the government. Since being handed over to the government, the hospital has reportedly suffered from inadequate upkeep, requiring an annual maintenance grant of nearly ₹60 lakh.
According to an agreement with the State Government, BRS Life Group built the 200-bed hospital in 2016 and initially managed its operations. However, due to certain difficulties, the group could not continue running the facility, prompting the government to take over the hospital in 2022. The Health Department currently manages the hospital and its infrastructure.
At present, the hospital functions with only 70 beds instead of the original 200-bed capacity. According to District Surgeon Dr. Ashok, the hospital has adequate doctors and staff, records around 160 deliveries every month, and admits nearly 80 inpatients daily.
The building was constructed using a pillar-based design, meaning it is primarily supported by vertical columns rather than walls. This design is similar to commercial buildings in Dubai. Instead of conventional brick and stone walls, gypsum sheet walls—panels made from gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper—were used. Most of the equipment, such as generators (backup power sources), air conditioning systems (climate control machines), CCTV cameras (video surveillance systems), elevators (lifts used for vertical transport of patients and staff), transformers (devices that change electrical voltage), and X-ray machines (medical imaging devices), is imported and expensive to maintain.
Heavy coastal rainfall has caused water seepage through the gypsum walls, resulting in damage and deterioration in several areas. Walls in rooms housing mothers and newborns on the fifth floor have reportedly become damaged, posing safety concerns. Water leakage has also been observed in antenatal wards.
The POP (Plaster of Paris, a material made from gypsum) ceiling panels have begun peeling off and are reportedly at risk of falling on patients. Water stagnation in the first-floor parking area has led to mosquito breeding, while waste accumulation has further worsened hygiene conditions. Rats, cockroaches, and mosquitoes have become a major nuisance in maternity wards, causing inconvenience to mothers and children, alleged a local resident, Prashanth of Udyavar.
The hospital has four imported elevators, each requiring a monthly maintenance cost of around Rs 5,000. Two elevators are currently out of service, and repairs are estimated to cost up to Rs 80,000, according to hospital maintenance engineer Prakash S. He also stated that the imported transformer installed in the building has malfunctioned and requires technicians from Kerala for repairs, costing nearly Rs 1 lakh per visit. Spare parts are also extremely expensive and difficult to source locally.
The facility is equipped with 600 KV generators that operate during power outages. These generators consume nearly 50 litres of diesel per hour. With power disruptions lasting around eight hours every Tuesday, diesel expenses can reach Rs 30,000 per day, while weekly consumption averages around Rs 40,000 worth of fuel.
The building also has a hydraulic water supply system, requiring the pumps to operate even for water to reach taps on the upper floors. In the absence of electricity, water supply to the entire building comes to a halt.
Of the two chiller units installed in the hospital, only one is currently operational, as repairs to the second unit would cost several lakhs of rupees. The centralized air-conditioning system also results in high electricity consumption, with each AC unit requiring around Rs 5,000 in maintenance expenses. Dr. Ashok noted that the department had already cleared pending electricity bills amounting to Rs 4 crore.
District Surgeon Dr. Ashok stated that the hospital was built entirely on a foreign model and equipped with imported technology, making maintenance extremely costly. He said an annual allocation of Rs 60 lakh is required for building upkeep and equipment repairs, and a proposal seeking funds has already been submitted to the department’s commissioner.
“People often complain about shortcomings in the hospital, but they do not realize the enormous challenges involved in maintaining this foreign-style structure. Most of the issues stem from the design and imported systems used in the building,” he said.
Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna, who visited the hospital and reviewed the situation, said he had discussed the issues with the District Surgeon and understood the challenges being faced. He noted that inadequate maintenance was affecting the quality of services provided to the public.
He further stated that he would meet the new Health Minister and senior Health Department officials to seek adequate funding for the hospital’s maintenance and ensure better healthcare services for the people.
