Patna Feb 26 PTI The historic Patna Medical College and Hospital PMCH founded as the Prince of Wales Medical College has turned 97 with the college authorities and its alumni association issuing a fresh plea to the Bihar government to preserve key heritage landmarks of the institution undergoing renovation Old buildings of the PMCH are being demolished in phases to make way for modern high-rise structures on its sprawling campus Amid a fall in COVID-19 cases in Patna the 97th anniversary of the foundation of Bihar and Odishas first medical college was celebrated on Friday and 74 students were awarded gold medals in different subjects PMCH Principal V P Choudhary said The institution originally christened as the Prince of Wales Medical College was established in 1925 to perpetuate the memory of the visit of the then Prince of Wales later King Edward VIII to Patna in December 1921 It was renamed as PMCH a few decades after Indias Independence The anniversary event was held on the campus and attended by Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey and a few eminent doctors As proud alumni we would request you Bihar health minister to take care of few heritage sites so that they be left intact for future generations to witness what it was in the early part of the last century when this great institution was functioning All great societies preserve heritage buildings PMCH Alumni Association president Dr Satyajeet Kumar Singh said The Administrative Building which houses the historic plaque installed on the formal inauguration of the institution in 1927 and the iconic oldBankipore General Hospital Building should be preserved as memories of its glorious past he said The PMCH Alumni Association had earlier appealed to preserve and restore Administrative Building which houses the Principals Office and the old Bankipore General Hospital Building equipped with a British-era lift housing the Hathwa Ward and the old operation theatre which was visited by Mahatma Gandhi in May 1947 Principal Choudhary also an alumnus of PMCH when asked about the fate of Administrative Building and the old Bankipore General Hospital Building said We have also sent an appeal to the government authorities and our hope is that while creating a new state-of-the-art medical infrastructure on the campus the key heritage landmarks will be preserved for next generations The foundation stone of the mega redevelopment project of the PMCH was laid by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on February 8 2021 on the campus As part of the revamp plan a 5462-bed hospital complex will come up at the site at a cost of Rs 5540 crore and the project is expected to be completed in seven yearsPTI KND SMN SMN