After Raichur, Belagavi citizens demand AIIMS

Belagavi: Districts in North Karnataka appear to be caught up in a battle among themselves – the battle to house the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in their respective districts. While activists in Raichur, upset with being overlooked for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), have already launched an agitation demanding that the state and central governments take steps to establish AIIMS in the Kalyana Karnataka district, residents of the border district of Belagavi have launched a movement on Twitter demanding the setting up of the prestigious institution.
On Wednesday, hundreds of Belagavi citizens used the hashtag to lend their voice for the campaign. Although Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has greenlighted an AIIMS in Karnataka, the state government is yet to decide where the premier institute will be established. The state government is reportedly keen on establishing AIIMS in Hubballi. However, seven citizens’ outfits in Belagavi, which have united under the umbrella Forum of Association Belagavi (FOAB), are leading the campaign to get the institution housed in the border district.
Prominent citizens of Belagavi are, in fact, planning on calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and convincing him to order that AIIMS be established in the district. In fact, FOAB has submitted a representation to the PM and he regional commissioner.
President of Professional Forum, Belagavi Dr HB Rajashekhar pointed out that, with a population of over 53 lakh, the border district was the state’s largest. “But the district hospital has just 700 beds, which is not at all adequate. Moreover, the district hospital does not have many specialised departments. If AIIMS were to be established in Belagavi, it would benefit people across North Karnataka, in addition to those in neighbouring Goa, and in the districts of South Maharashtra,” Dr Rajashekhar told TOI.
Belagavi-based activist Sachin Desai pointed out that, Dharwad district’s population was less than 50% of Belagavi’s, despite which, it housed premier state-run healthcare institutions such as Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS). “Furthermore, the state government has also announced that the Jayadeva and Kidwai hospitals will be set up in Dharwad. This step-motherly treatment of Belagavi must stop, and the government must set up AIIMS in the border district,” he said.
Activists opined that, unlike the politicians of Dharwad district, elected representatives from Belagavi appeared less concerned with the development of the district, and the welfare of the people. “Belagavi was more qualified to house the IIT, but Dharwad bagged the prize. This should not happen with AIIMS,” said Abhishek Joshi.