Sardesai pushes for AIIMS in South hospital

Margao: Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijai Sardesai on Wednesday said that he was strongly opposed to any moves by the government to set up a private medical college in the South Goa district hospital at Margao. He has instead demanded that the government bring All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to South Goa to provide super-specialty healthcare facilities to the people in the district.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant had on Tuesday announced the government’s plan of setting up a new medical college at Margao affiliated to the South Goa district hospital within the next four years.
Sardesai demanded to know the reason for the government not to put the South Goa district hospital premises for the intended purpose and to think of setting up a medical college without such a demand from any quarters. Suspecting a racket in the proposed medical college project, Sardesai said that the plan was to get a private entity to set up a medical college and run the hospital.
“The basic intention for the construction of the South Goa district hospital was to relocate the Hospicio hospital that was in a bad condition. The new district hospital was built during Digambar Kamat’s tenure as the chief minister,” Sardesai said. “Digambar should now make his views public — whether the building was meant for a hospital or for a private medical college.”
Sardesai said, “Why don’t you look at bringing AIIMS instead? AIIMS is a pet project of PM Narendra Modi who has allotted AIIMS to 16 BJP-ruled states.” He added, “Why not the district hospital be made into an AIIMS?”