With border closed, cry for AIIMS at Kasaragod gets louder

MANGALURU: With restrictions continuing on inter-state travel at border in Talapady, Dakshina Kannada district, hundreds of people from north Kerala, who depend on medical colleges and super speciality hospitals in Mangaluru, have launched a campaign seeking an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kasaragod.
While online campaigns on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #aiims_for_Kasaragod have received huge support from people of Kasaragod and Kannur districts in Kerala, leaders from Left parties, Congress, Muslim League and BJP have also joined in.
Borders to Kerala in Mangaluru were sealed during the lockdown and while it has been opened now, there are still severe restrictions on travel. People in Kasaragod, the northernmost district in Kerala bordering Karnataka, have been the hardest hit since they depend on Mangaluru for almost everything.
Kasaragod district BJP president K Shreekanth told TOI the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sanctioned an AIIMS for Kerala in 2014. “It was sanctioned by health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan,” he said. “We also submitted a memorandum to the then chief minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy with a request to identify land for AIIMS in Kasaragod. Later, a memorandum was submitted to incumbent chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a discussion was held with the district administration too. BJP has been demanding an AIIMS in Kasaragod for years.”
AK Prakash, admin of a Facebook group demanding an AIIMS, said, “It is the need of the hour to discuss lack of medical colleges, specialty hospitals and backwardness of Kasaragod district.”