“The Kruti Samiti has now warned that the hospital must start by December, or there will be protests. It is tragic that people must threaten agitation just to receive what was promised to them nearly a decade ago. Why should citizens have to fight for something already built and paid for with public money? Why must health care depend on political pressure rather than administrative responsibility?
The failure is systemic. It reflects poor coordination between the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, which built the facility, and the Directorate of Health Services, which was supposed to operationalise it. It also reveals the state’s misplaced priorities — investing in new projects while neglecting to complete existing ones.”
The long and shameful delay in opening the Tuem Sub-District Hospital is not just a bureaucratic lapse. It is a betrayal of public trust. Built at a cost of ₹52 crore by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, the 100-bed facility was supposed to open in March 2017. Eight years later, the building still lies largely idle, except for a small dialysis unit inaugurated in 2021.
This is not a case of minor administrative oversight. It is a glaring example of how political promises and public projects in Goa often begin with loud inaugurations and end in silence. The people of Tuem and the surrounding villages were promised better healthcare. What they have received instead is a locked hospital, empty corridors, and endless excuses.
The state owes the people some answers. Why has the hospital not been made fully operational all these years? What are the obstacles — lack of staff, equipment, or political will? Why was only the dialysis unit started, while the rest of the facility was left to decay? Why did it take local citizens, through the Tuem Hospital Kruti Samiti, to issue a warning of agitation for the government to stir into action?
Governments change, ministers come and go, but the health needs of the people do not wait for political convenience. It is easy to cut ribbons; it is far harder to ensure a project functions as intended. Every year of delay translates into patients forced to travel long distances for treatment, families spending more than they can afford, and precious time lost in emergencies. These are not statistics. They are real lives.
The Kruti Samiti has now warned that the hospital must start by December, or there will be protests. It is tragic that people must threaten agitation just to receive what was promised to them nearly a decade ago. Why should citizens have to fight for something already built and paid for with public money? Why must health care depend on political pressure rather than administrative responsibility?
The failure is systemic. It reflects poor coordination between the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, which built the facility, and the Directorate of Health Services, which was supposed to operationalise it. It also reveals the state’s misplaced priorities — investing in new projects while neglecting to complete existing ones. Meanwhile, nearby hospitals like Mapusa and Pernem remain overburdened, handling cases that Tuem should have been able to manage.
Officials may point to budgetary or staffing issues, but those explanations no longer hold weight. Eight years is long enough to resolve such problems. The real issue is the absence of urgency and accountability. Projects like Tuem hospital are launched with political fanfare and then left to gather dust, only to be revived when public anger grows.
If the government truly respects its people, this hospital must open — not partially, not symbolically, but fully and functionally — before December. The authorities should make the timeline public, list what remains to be completed, and report progress regularly. The public deserves transparency, not vague assurances.
Health is not a luxury or a campaign slogan. It is a fundamental right. The continued delay of Tuem Hospital is a violation of that right. Goa prides itself on being a progressive state, yet the reality on the ground often tells a different story — of promises made, forgotten, and recycled.
December cannot become another deadline that slips quietly into the new year. The people of Tuem have waited long enough. The hospital’s walls, once symbols of hope, now stand as reminders of broken governance. Let the government finally show that it values action over announcements.
Justice delayed is indeed justice denied. The people of Tuem are not asking for favors — only for what they were already promised. It is time the government delivered, not with words, but with open doors, working wards, and the sound of life returning to a hospital that should never have stood silent for so long.
