JEDDAH: The city’s central district of Sharafiya turned into a mini Kerala on Friday night when hundreds of expatriates hailing from the south Indian state converged to have a glimpse of their movie stars.
Suresh Gopi and Siddique, both popular actors of the Malayalam cinema, were among the guests of honor at the opening of Al Noor Medical Center.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Hyder Ali Shihab Thangal presided over the event. Munawar Ali Shihab Thangal, another IUML leader, opened its pharmacy site.
The crowd all around the center was so huge that some of the invitees chose to remain away from the melee although they were in time for the opening set at 7 p.m.
The crowd continued to swell in the wake of rumors that Mammootty, the Malayalam superstar, was also coming. The stargazers remained outside the hospital for hours to have a glimpse of their celluloid heroes. The confusion prevailed until security officials intervened.
“We had a tough time to run our scheduled program due to the pandemonium created by the unmanageable crowd,” a spokesman for the hospital told Arab News. In an effort to pacify the boisterous crowd the stars appeared at the entrance of the hospital and waved to their fans. The local guests included top-ranking officials from the departments of labor, passport and police. Ariadan Shoukath, a film producer from Kerala, also flew in for the function.
The various departments of the medical center including the departments of internal medicine, pediatrics, ophthalmology, obstetrics and gynecology, ENT, dental care, imaging and labs were separately opened by the actors.
Abdul Salam, also known as Salam Mampad, managing director of the medical center, said he was overwhelmed by the turnout at the opening and said the new center was committed to providing “exceptional quality health care at an affordable cost.”
The central district already boasts at least six hospitals and polyclinics.
The 250-bed center, which has 63 rooms, will have the state-of-the-art equipment and highly proficient doctors and consultants, Abdul Salam said.
The hospital will offer free treatment to patients referred by the local charity organization, Jamiat Al-Khairiyah.
Salam said the medical center would operate initially as a polyclinic for outpatients and provide beds in the emergency room for cases that need observation.
