The state is keen on setting up a Maharashtra Institute of Virology along the lines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology, Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar said on Thursday. Abitkar, who was in Pune, took stock of the ambitious project at the public health laboratory and also visited the Serum Institute of India (SII), where he encouraged officials to take a leading role in making Maharashtra ‘cancer-free’.
When contacted, Abitkar told The Indian Express that the state has initiated a project to establish a virology institute modelled after the National Institute of Virology (NIV), headquartered in Pune. The public health laboratory’s current mandate includes monitoring waterborne diseases and testing samples to detect adulteration in water and food. Efforts are now underway to upgrade the laboratory into a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) facility.
At the laboratory, a preliminary report has been submitted to a high-level committee of experts and a presentation was made outlining the equipment required for the proposed facility. As many as 150 high-end equipment will be required, which includes automated ELISA processor, electron microscope, DNA-sequencing analyser and others.
Abitkar visited SII and met Dr Cyrus Poonawalla and other officials. “At the state level we have taken several initiatives to deal with the rising burden of cancer. The aim is to make Maharashtra ‘cancer free’ and we are urging SII to play a leading role in the effort,” Abitkar said.
The minister also visited the control room centre of 108 Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services at Aundh Chest Hospital. “The team is doing good work,” the minister said.
Maharashtra EMS has 937 ambulances, including 237 Advanced Life Support ones and 704 Basic Life Support ambulances. Since its launch on January 26, 2014 till September 30, 2025, over 1,13,14 978 emergency patients have been served. Meanwhile, Dr Dnyaneshwar Shelke, Chief Operating Officer, Maharashtra EMS, said that a presentation was also made. “The integration of the Computer-Aided Dispatch system, GPS tracking and coordination activities were also shown,” Dr Shelke added.
This is the first time that the minister visited the control room of Maharashtra EMS where the 104 Health Advice Call Centre is also operational. Presently there are several agencies involved in operating ambulance services, including the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and National Highway Authority of India. Plans are underway to frame an integrated network for the operation and monitoring of all ambulance services across the state which also includes 102 ambulance services.
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