Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Mar 14: The state government has decided to construct a modern drug warehouse in Mangaluru to facilitate easier supply of medicines to local health centres and all government hospitals in Dakshina Kannada (DK) and Udupi districts.

Preparations are underway to construct the warehouse on around 60 cents of land at Krishnanagar near Bondel in Mangaluru. As part of the initial phase, work has begun to build a compound wall around the ground at an estimated cost of about Rs 25 lac.

The land near Bondel was handed over to the health department in 2024. Despite opposition from the Krishnanagar Public Ground Protection Committee, the work has now commenced at the site.

At present, the health department office is located near A B Shetty Circle in Mangaluru. However, the building is old and houses only some of the department’s offices, making the space highly congested. There is also a lack of adequate space to store files, which had led to demands for a new office building.

Initially, there were plans to construct the health department office at the same site where the warehouse is now proposed in Bondel. However, considering the urgent need for the drug warehouse, it has been decided to shift the health department office to the Prajasoudha building located in Padil. The process of shifting is expected to take place soon.

Currently, a drug warehouse serving both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts functions at Wenlock District Hospital. As the facility is very old, it has reached a dilapidated condition and faces severe problems, particularly during the monsoon season.

Wenlock Hospital is also gradually being upgraded, and since the same warehouse is used to store medicines for the hospital as well, there is a shortage of space. In this regard, MLA Vedavyas Kamath had requested the government to construct a new drug warehouse.

After the new warehouse is built, there is a possibility that the existing drug warehouse within the Wenlock Hospital premises will be renovated and used exclusively for storing medicines required for the hospital. As Wenlock Hospital is undergoing phased renovation, plans are also being considered to provide a separate space for medicine storage.

Residents have demanded that the land at Krishnanagar, where the warehouse is being constructed, should be retained for public use. According to locals, the 60 cents of land has been used by residents for sports and cultural activities for nearly 30 years.

Srinivasa Salian, president of the Krishnanagar Public Ground Protection Committee, said that if the health department used the land, people in the area would be left without any space for public activities.

Dakshina Kannada district health officer Dr Thimmayya said that a new drug warehouse was being constructed in Mangaluru to benefit both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

He stated that at present medicines were stored at Wenlock Hospital, but the building had reached a dilapidated stage and there was a shortage of space for stock. In this regard, he said the government had identified land near Krishnanagar in Bondel and that preliminary work for the construction of the drug warehouse had begun.