CHENNAI: The decision to establish a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Thoppur in Madurai will fulfill the long-felt need for such an institute of medical excellence in south Tamil Nadu, according to Dr. S. Gurushankar, chairman, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai.
Hailing the Centre and state government for taking steps to ensure the institute, he said the new AIIMS, once completed, would give a big boost to healthcare infrastructure of the state. “It will help correct regional imbalances in the availability of affordable, high-quality healthcare and medical education. Both patients and medical students will benefit,” he said.
Pointing out that the newly announced AIIMS for other parts of the country have faced delays in completion and unfulfilled vacancies, Dr. Gurushankar urged the government to ensure “proper planning” and execute the project.
“The government should ensure that the AIIMS at Madurai is completed on time and opened to the public as soon as possible. The institute should be equipped with adequate infrastructure in terms of doctors and medical machinery,” he said and added that there should be special focus on setting up super-specialties like cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology and pulmonology.
This will enable patients from the region to avail advanced medical care nearer their homes and not travel to big cities for treatment.
AIIMS a boon for southern districts: Pon Radhakrishanan
AIIMS will be a boon for Tamil Nadu, and particularly the people of 13 districts in and around Madurai would benefit from it, Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishanan has said.
Expressing happiness over the Centre’s announcement to establish AIIMS at Thoppur in Madurai, Mr. Radhakrishnan told reporters after visiting the site at Thoppur on Wednesday that the foundation stone laying function for the institute would be held soon. “This has brought a great honour to the Tamils, especially when it is going to come up in Madurai. We should be thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this,” he said.
Meanwhile, District Collector Veeraraghava Rao said about 200 acres of land to set up the institute would be handed over to the Central government for AIIMS, once the Government Order is issued. The government would provide all the support required for establishing the AIIMS, including power and water supply, he added.
Lauding the announcement, BJP state president Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan said the BJP-led government would initiate more such projects for the betterment of Tamil Nadu.
State Revenue Minister R. B. Udayakumar exuded confidence that the AIIMS project will take off smoothly. “We have more land than is required for the project,” he expressed. State Cooperation Minister Sellur K. Raju thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami for brining the project to Madurai.
