Madras Medical College all set for new home

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The prestigious Madras Medical College is all set to move into the new building coming up at the old Central Prison premises.

The construction work, which began on the sprawling 11-acre prison land in October 2010, is nearing completion and would be inaugurated by May, said sources.

The Medical College, currently located at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, is more than 100 years old and was not being able to satisfy the current requirements of the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The council had pointed out that the current classrooms in the old premises couldn’t accommodate additional students and better infrastructure was required for sanctioning more seats.

The state-of-the-art new building, which is being built at a cost of Rs 57 crore, has six floors (ground plus five) and will house the Anatomy, Microbiology, Forensics, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Community Medicine departments along with laboratories, hostels, canteen, common halls and examination halls.

Though the classrooms were designed to accommodate only 150 students, the MCI had made it clear that unless the infrastructure was improved to accommodate more students, the legendary institution would not be allotted additional seats.

“With the new building, we are trying to meet the criteria set by the MCI and make sure that the infrastructure is state-of-the-art and that it also meets future requirements,” said Dr Kanagasabai, dean of Madras Medical College.

Once the college is shifted to the new premises, the old building would be used for expanding the hospital.