Gaya, Dec. 5: Good news for pilgrims frequenting Gaya.

The district administration has planned to build a Rs 20crore Yatri Niwas on the campus of the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) to provide accommodation to pilgrims visiting Gaya to perform pinddaan rituals.

The existing building of the hospital, which lies at a distance of around 500m west of the Vishnupad temple and is in a dilapidated condition, would be demolished for the purpose.

District magistrate (DM) Sanjay Kumar Agarwal inspected the hospital recently and asked the additional DM to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the complex.

The campus would have a park, a separate children's park, a small hospital, parking facilities, a hall for senior citizens and other civic facilities. The senior citizens' hall would have indoor games, television and other sources of entertainment.

The hospital campus sprawls across 4.5 acres. The new building to be constructed on the complex would accommodate up to 2,000 pilgrims. The DM said the DPR would be sent to the urban development department for approval.

During the inauguration of the Pitripaksh Mela this year, a demand was raised before chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi to build a tourist complex on the hospital campus.

When contacted, regional deputy director, health, Rajendra Prasad said: 'Patients with infectious diseases are treated at the hospital.' He, however, admitted that the condition of hospital was not good. 'If the district administration plans to demolish the existing building and construct a tourist complex, it could be done by seeking clearance from health department,' he added.

'The campus is filled with garbage and has turned into a cattle-grazing ground. Three contract doctors are posted here. Established during the British period, the hospital was set up in a sparsely populated area but with time, the surroundings became densely populated. Such hospitals should be built away from areas of habitation owing to the risk of infections to other persons,' said a social worker.