Lucknow, June 10 -- Buildings over 60 years old on the King George's Medical University (KGMU) campus will undergo a decongestion exercise aimed at reducing footfall and unwarranted crowding. "The buildings that are over 60 years old were constructed at a time when patient footfall was significantly lower. Space optimisation was not a priority then, which is why they now experience overcrowding. This issue will be addressed through the planned decongestion," said Dr KK Singh, spokesperson for KGMU. The KGMU campus includes several buildings over six decades old, such as the Gandhi Ward, the office of the chief medical superintendent (CMS), the surgical wing adjacent to the CMS office, and departments including paediatrics, anatomy and surgery. "With the growing demand, more departments, wards, diagnostic facilities, and beds had to be accommodated within these old structures. However, optimal space utilisation was not possible due to their outdated design," Dr Singh explained. According to a proposal from the vice chancellor's office, KGMU plans to construct new buildings on land cleared of encroachments. This will allow redistribution of departments and facilities, thereby reducing the load on older structures and improving functionality for both patients and medical staff. In the past year, over one lakh square feet of encroached land near Queen Mary's Hospital, behind the ophthalmology department, and along the main road has been vacated. "New buildings will also be designed to include adequate parking facilities so that parking does not become a problem in the future," Dr Singh added. The KGMU campus currently houses nearly two dozen buildings, six of which are over 60 years old. These older buildings lack parking space and are structurally unfit for major modifications....