AIIMS tunnel ready, yet to be inaugurated

New Delhi: An underground tunnel, linking the main campus of the AIIMS with its Trauma Centre, is ready since over three months but is yet to become operational as it is awaiting formal inauguration.

Once operational, it will drastically reduce the time for transferring critically ill patients and AIIMS staffers, who frequent between these two facilities from the current 35-40 minutes to around five minutes.

The project completion report was sent to the Union Health Ministry almost three months ago, stating that the project is complete and ready for inauguration. According to officials, AIIMS is yet to receive any intimation from the ministry about its inauguration.

This is the first time in India that a road tunnel has been constructed above an operational metro tunnel, with a minimum clearance of 1.6 metre only.

Sources said the tunnel was to become operational since mid-2015, but got del-ayed due to certain issues regarding clearance from civic bodies for construction of the surface road connecting its exit point near Safdarjung Hospital leading to the Trauma Centre.

“All these were sorted out and the surface road has been constructed and is ready to be operational. Currently, it takes around 35-45 minutes to transfer critical patients from the Trauma Centre to main AIIMS and vice versa. This is because ambulances have to take the Ring Road which is heavily congested during the peak hours,” a source said. The tunnel will also be used by family members of patients, doctors, and other hospital staff.

“There is frequent exch-ange of doctors, patients, support staff between the two buildings located 2.5 km apart from each other,” the source said.

The 614-metre-long tunnel costing `40 crore has been built by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.