History

History of T. D. Medical College, Alappuzha

T.D. Medical College is situated in the suburban area of Vandanam, 9 km south of the Alappuzha (previously Alleppey) town, facing the NH 47, in Alappuzha district of Kerala State, South India. The initials T.D. stand for Thirumala Devaswom, which in Sanskrit means belonging to the Lord of Thirumala, since this medical college was started in 1963 under the patronage of the T.D. Temple at Anantha Narayana Puram of Alappuzha. Initially the management of the college was done by the Kerala Cultural & Educational Society. It was later brought under a trust called “T.D. Medical College Trust”, which was headed by the President of the Thirumala Devaswom.

The President of the Thirumala Devaswom was Sri. K Nagendra Prabhu and Secretary Sri. N Venkiteswara Prabhu. The day to day administration of the college was done by the T.D. Medical College Administrative Council. Sri. N. V. Prabhu, Thoppil House, Alappuzha, the Honorary Secretary of this council, was the driving force behind the starting of this medical college. A total of 145 acres of land was purchased at Vandanam, in the coastal belt for the future development of the college campus, to include the hospitals, hostels, residential quarters.

The construction of the building started with the foundation stone laying ceremony by sri. R Sankar, Chief Minister of Kerala on March 06, 1963 and the classes started on August 1963.

Government Take Over

Due to the objection raised by the Kerala University in running the medical college in this state collecting capitation fee from the students, the T.D.M.C. management ran into financial problems and the Kerala Government came forward for their help and took over the management of the institution from 17th October 1967 for a period of five years initially, under an agreement executed between the T.D.Medical College Trust and the Government. Since the T.D.Medical College Trust did not come forward to take back the management of the college at the end of the stipulated initial five year period, as per conditions in the agreement, the college became vested with the Government of Kerala from17th October 1972 and Government order No.G.O.M.S.263/73/HD dt. 23rd October 1973 was issued accordingly. Thus this became the 4th Government Medical College in the state. Since no compensation whatsoever was paid to the T.D.M.C. Management by the Government during take over, the name T.D. Medical College is still retained in the records.

The number of seats for the M.B.B.S course in T.D. Medical College, Alappuzha was 50 to begin with. It was raised to 100 in 1967. But as per the recommendation of the Indian Medical Council, the number was again reduced to 80 in 1973. It was again raised to 100 as per the recommendation of the Indian Medical Council in 1979.Now the number of seats has raised to 150 from the academic year 2007-08 onwards. Post Graduate Course in Medicine and Surgery (2 seats each) were started in the year 1982-83 and Paramedical Course for MLT was started in the year 1985-86 with 15 seats. Diploma Course in Pharmacy was also started with 35 seats and later it increased to 40 seats.

Buildings

In 1967 when the Government temporarily took over the management of the medical college there were only two wings of the college building in the ground floor constructed by the private management at a cost of about Rs.8.8 lakhs. The central portion housing the library in the ground floor and the auditorium in the first floor were constructed by the Government at a cost of about Rs.13 lakhs, which was completed in 1971. The construction of the remaining part of the first floor was done after the medical college was taken over by the Government.

Shifting of Medical College Hospital from Alappuzha to Vandanam

The regulations of Medical Council of India demands the existence of Collegiate Hospital in Medical College Campus itself. As part of the plan for shifting the Medical College Hospital to the College Campus, the following five departments were shifted to the newly constructed hospital building (now it is Old Block I & II) at Neerkunnam near Vandanam, on 25.02.1991.

In 2005, Pediatrics department was shifted to newly constructed A & B block of Medical College Hospital Complex Vandanam. In January 2007, Medicine and allied specialties have been shifted to new blocks such as D&E, I1,I2 IP wards at new hospital complex.

After this, shifting process has been achieved tremendous pace. With in a span of 3 years, construction of three major blocks viz. C&F block, J1,J2,J3 diagnostic blocks and Surgical K blocks have been completed utilizing NABARD and State Plan fund. At last, the day ie.

12th January 2010 which is to be known as a red-letter day in the history of T.D. Medical College Hospital has come and Hon’ble Chief Minister of the state proclaimed that the shifting of the Medical College Hospital from Alappuzha to Vandanam has been completed and a long cherished dream of people of this region has come true. And now, whole hospital departments are occupying a floor area of about 28,000 sq. metre and it is situated in area of around 60 acres of land. Now the college and hospital are situated in a campus having an area of 162 acres and there is sufficient space for all types of future developments and there is a huge scope for developing this college as a Centre of Excellence in various fields of Modern Medicine.

Emblem of T.D. Medical College

The emblem of the T.D.Medical College is unique in several respects. On the top portion, in the centre there is a rose with the icon of Lord Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu according to Hindu mythology, who is the presiding deity in the Alappuzha Anantha Narayana Puram T.D.Temple. The two lighted wick lamps on either side denote knowledge.

Below this there are two quotations “Naayamaatmaa balaheenena labhyah” and “Sareeramaadyam khalu dharma saadanam”. Both have important messages to the medical students and medical men in general.

The first quotation is from Mundakopanishad, a spiritual classic on Hindu philosophy. It conveys the idea that one who is weak mentally and physically cannot realize this Atman. Otherwise it means that one has to be mentally and physically strong to achieve the ultimate goal in life. The second quotation is from ” Kumaarasambhavam”, a great poem in Sanskrit by the Mahaakavi Kaalidasa. The implied message is that the physical body is the most important instrument in carrying out ones righteous duties, meaning thereby that a healthy body is a must for a person embarking on his duties. The lower portion of the emblem shows the various instruments used by the student to acquire the necessary knowledge to practise his profession.