Yediyurappa keen on AIIMS coming up in Kalaburagi

Kalaburagi: It appears as though chief minister BS Yediyurappa is determined to have the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Kalaburagi, which he hopes will ensure that people across Kalyana Karnataka region have access to quality healthcare services, which is affordable. At the inaugural ceremony of the trauma centre of the Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) in Ballari on Monday, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announced the central government’s objective to establish a branch of AIIMS in Karnataka, and Yediyurappa had appealed to him on the occasion to do so in Kalaburagi.
Interestingly, five years ago, Yediyurappa had batted for an AIIMS branch in Raichur district. Sources in the Karnataka government admitted to TOI that Kalaburagi MP Umesh G Jadhav was lobbying spiritedly in New Delhi to get the premier institution set up in the district, counted among the most backward in the state.
However, stakeholders in other North Karnataka districts are also hoping to get the Centre to establish AIIMS in their respective districts. For instance, VIMS director Dr Devanand pointed to the infrastructure that the institution boasted – reportedly the largest in South Asia – justifying its bid for an AIIMS tag. “Although the CM wants it established in Kalaburagi, we have submitted a request for VIMS to be considered to be upgraded to AIIMS. In addition to people from Kalyana Karnataka, patients from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states too will benefit if VIMS is upgraded,” Dr Devanand said.
Raichur activist Razak Ustad said it was a ‘betrayal’ of the people of the district. Ustad who led the movement demanding the setting up of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the district, said, “Raichur district does not have advanced healthcare facilities and setting up AIIMS here would have benefitted the people. We will lead a delegation to meet Yediyurappa, Pralhad Joshi and Jagadish Shettar, all three of whom had promised to establish both IIT and AIIMS in Raihcur,” Ustad said.
Furthermore, the activist said that, while Kalaburagi had many hospitals, Raichur was in dire need of advanced healthcare institutions.
Former minister and Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge, said he is unaware of the CM’s objective to have an AIIMS in Kalaburagi. “There has also been no official statement from the Centre to this effect. But my father Mallikarjun Kharge had been striving to have an AIIMS set up in Kalaburagi during UPA’s second term so acquisition of land should not be a problem. There is also room for upgrading the ESI hospital in Kalaburagi,” he said.