‘Set up AIIMS hospital at Sengipatti’

Reiterating the demand for establishing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital at Sengipatti near Thanjavur, a group of civic activists of Tiruchi have decided to form a larger committee comprising activists from the central region to lobby for the establishment of the hospital here.

Taking cognisance of unconfirmed reports that the AIIMS could be located in Madurai, a meeting of Federation of Consumer and Service Organisations held here on Sunday emphasised the need for locating the hospital in the central part of the State to benefit a large section of people of the State.

Although a Central team had inspected five sites in different parts of the State for setting up the AIIMS in Tamil Nadu in 2015, there has been no word yet on where the hospital is to be established.

Meanwhile, there are reports that “undue pressure” is being mounted on the Centre to establish the hospital in Madurai, said M.Sekaran, president of the Federation.

He pointed out the civil society in the city had been conducting a series of agitations since 2005 for establishing the hospital in Tiruchi.

An announcement on upgrading the Government Headquarters Hospital in the city on a par with AIIMS was made by the Union government as early as 2002. But the project was later shifted to Salem.

Subsequently, the city lost out on another proposal to establish a multi-speciality hospital.

Mr.Sekaran claimed that already a 320-bedded multi-speciality hospital, on a par with AIIMS level hospital, is being established in Madurai and expected to be opened shortly. “The Central region lagged behind in terms of speciality health care institutions when compared to the southern part of the State. Besides, Sengipatti is centrally located and can be accessed by people of not only central region but also from southern and western districts,” he said.

Civic activists have been contending that excellent logistics and the 200-odd acres of centrally located site at Sengipatti was accessible equally from Thanjavur, Tiruchi, and Pudukkottai. This would make the site easily accessible for people from different parts of the State. The federation resolved to meet Union Minister Pon.Radhakrishnan to press the demand.

Besides, a larger committee comprising representatives of civic, consumers, traders and other non-political organisations would be formed soon to take up the cause.