The cash-strapped Asha Parekh Hospital at Santacruz in Bombay will soon get a new lease of life. It has been given to Shalby Hospitals for operation. Shalby will demolish the old building and set up a multi-specialty hospital in its place. The Shalby group and the Parekh Trust, belonging to yesteryear actress Asha Parekh, have applied to the Charity Commissioner for permission to demolish the existing structure.
The name of the hospital and the ownership will remain unchanged. The hospital goes by the name of BCJ General Hospital but is more popularly known as Asha Parekh Hospital. It was started in memory of Asha Parekh’s mother. The new hospital will be managed by Shalby Ltd. which plans to turn it into India’s finest orthopaedic institution.
Asha Parekh Hospital shut down in 2017 when it became financially unviable, not being able to pay its doctors and even bear administrative costs. After being taken over by Shalby, the trust has reportedly cleared all its dues including Rs. 9 crore owed to Bank Of India.