Bhuji Hospital, Gujarat Province, India

   Gujarat province in Northern India was the home of Mahatma Ghandi. It is also the site of earthquakes,     one of which devastated the province in January 2001 and caused tens of thousands of casualties.

   During the disaster the local hospital in Bhuji (420km west of state capital Gandhinagar) collapsed    claiming approx. 176 lives. The New Zealand Government, as part of its international aid programme,    decided that rebuilding the ruined facility would be a suitable project for New Zealand earthquake    engineering assistance.

    EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT HOSPITAL

   New Zealand, known as the "shaky isles", has considerable expertise in earthquake-proofing  buildings as    it is often effected by tremors.

   It was decided that the new 300-bed hospital be fitted with a New Zealand-developed    lead- rubber base- isolation system.

   With this system the bearings are part of the building's foundations, allowing the structure to remain    virtually stationary during an earthquake. "Base-isolation is well-suited to construction styles in India,"    commented an engineer from Beca NZ which was charged with completing the project. "The system is    maintenance-free and does not incorporate electronics. It's just rubber and lead."

   Structural engineers Dunning Thornton Consultants from Wellington were part of the New Zealand    design team and supervised installation of the first bearings on site in late 2001. Eventually,    280  lead- rubber bearings were installed.

   Base-isolation protects a number of buildings in New Zealand, including the national museum (Te    Papa), the Parliament Buildings and Wellington Hospital's new emergency department. It's also used in    numerous buildings and bridges in earthquake-prone countries around the world.

   The new 30,000m² hospital is the first building in India to be fitted with the technology. It is reputed to be    able to stand a force 10 tremor on the Richter scale. There are plans to extend the facility into a teaching    hospital and boost its capacity to 500 beds.

   HOSPITAL FACILITIES

   The main hospital building has a CT scan room, three intensive care units and eight operation  theatres    apart from other basic facilities.

   Aside from the main hospital building, there is a block for the chief district medical officer, two nursing    schools - one general and another for female health workers - a commercial health centre and staff    quarters.

   The New Zealand Government contributed $150,000 to the project with the rest coming from the    Government of India. The total cost was Rs1 billion.

   HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT

   The hospital will be managed by the state health department, which maintained the old GK Hospital.  A    team of officials, headed by health secretary SK Nanda, has been appointed to monitor and  supervise the    work of the new hospital.

   The proposed medical college to run with the hospital will be as per the conditions laid down by the    Medical Council of India. It will be the 11th medical college in the state and the first one to be set up  in    Kutch region.

   Since completion in mid 2003, the new building has stirred controversy. The people of Bhuj are wary  that    the facilities at the hospital may not be as cheap as in the past.

   "There was no need to spend so much just on a single hospital when there are people who still do not    have brick-and-cement houses of their own and children are studying under prefabricated structures,"    commented one local social activist.

   Officials in the health department also say after spending so much on the hospital it will simply not be    possible for the government to provide free treatment. It is also not clear if the hospital will be run by the    state or the central government. Talks are also being held on handing over the management of the    hospital to corporate houses.

   "If corporate houses take over the management, the facilities will not be free. The objective of a    government hospital dies a premature death," said one official. "The government is in a dilemma on how    to run the show. Delay in the inauguration of the hospital is also adding to the rumours."

   Some people's associations have even threatened to protest.

   Said Vakhatsinh Jadeja, a Bhuj-based educationist is quoted as saying: "I have heard that the hospital is    likely to be handed over to corporate houses. If this is true, people will not get facilities for free.

    "The quake-affected people of Kutch are not at all in a position to spend huge money on healthcare. And     why should they pay when facilities were available free at the same hospital?"