While CM Eknath Shinde’s surprise visit on Monday expedited much-needed repair work in six wards at King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, the facility’s officials informed mid-day that they had been requesting the BMC’s Hospital Infrastructure Cell (HIC) to do the same for months. “The repair works are carried out by the HIC and have nothing to do with the hospital administration. The details were not finalised at their end,” a hospital source said.

The hospital had made multiple calls to the department over the past few months, which did not yield a satisfactory outcome. The wards in question—4, 4A, 6, 7, 11 and 12—will now undergo renovations, including repair work, fixing electrical systems and installing new furniture and medical oxygen pipelines. Minor work started on Tuesday.