By Avinash Chaudhary

Dhangadhi, May 18: A Corona Special Hospital has been established in Dhangadhi, temporary capital of Sudurpaschim State, following the daily rise in national COVID-19 tally.
In the investment of the State government, a 50-bed Corona Special Hospital was established within a month.
The hospital was made in the land of District Coordination Committee and the hand-over programme is yet to be held.
As the COVID-19 infected people were identified in significant number in the Far west of Nepal, the State government had decided to build a special hospital for treatment of COVID-19 patients.
As per the decision, the hospital was set up within one month, with the help of District Health Office, Dhangadhi.
According to Lal Bahadur Dhami, Chief of Dhangadhi District Health Office, the construction works for the hospital had started on April 13 and the construction was complete on May 13.
"We've been able to construct a hospital within a month. It is a big achievement in itself," said Dhami. "We worked day and night to complete the construction within the deadline."
The newly set up Corona Special Hospital will be subordinate to Seti State Hospital. Dhami said that the hospital would be handed over to Seti State Hospital within a few days.
The State government had allocated a budget of Rs 10 million to establish the special hospital.
"Contractor Rohit Rana's Kinara Construction Company had received the contract to construct the hospital at Rs 9.4 million," informed State Ministry of Social Development.
"Although the government had allocated Rs 10 million for establishment of the hospital, the contract was approved at Rs 9.4 million," informed Hem Raj Khadka, information officer of the ministry.
Likewise, another 50-bed Corona Special Hospital is being constructed at Bhimduttanagar, Kanchanpur in the investment of Far Western State government.
The construction work of the hospital, however, is moving at a slow pace. The government had allocated a budget of Rs 10 million for the hospital.
Chief Dhami said that both the hospitals were constructed by using construction materials available in Nepal.
"A 'pre-fab house' was set up for the hospital. Also, availability of readymade construction materials made the construction easier," said Dhami.
"If the COVID-19 patients are limited in number, the Corona Special Hospital will be enough to treat the patients," said Dhami. "But if the national COVID-19 tally increases, the hospital's capacity will not be enough."
Until now, five COVID-19 patients, four from Kailali and one from Kanchanpur, have been identified in Sudurpaschim. All of them have been discharged from Seti Provincial Hospital after recovering from the virus.