BS Yediyurappa to flag off work on govt medical college in Haveri today

HAVERI: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa will on Friday lay the foundation stone for the Haveri Government Medical College, bringing to fruition a longstanding demand of the people of the district.While minister for medical education D Sudhakar, Haveri district in-charge minister Basavaraj Bommai and other local elected representatives will be among those in attendance at the ceremony on the ground, the CM will flag off work on the project virtually.The number of dignitaries participating in the event has been kept minimal owing to Covid-19 regulations.
Sources said that a sum of Rs 478.5 crore had been allocated for the project – Rs 365 crore for the construction of the building, Rs 85 crore for medical equipment and Rs 28.5 crore for other infrastructure. The medical college is being built across a government property spread across 56.1 acres in Devagiriyallapur on the outskirts of Haveri city. However, the medical college will start functioning from the next academic year.
Assistant executive engineer for the health and family welfare department Shashidhar Wali said that a detailed project report had already been drafted, and approved by the state cabinet in 2019. He said that both the men’s and women’s hostels would be built to accommodate 375 students each. “The project will also include residential quarters for both teaching and non-teaching staff. We have set aside 2,692sqft for the construction of residential quarters for dean and principal,” Wali said.
Special officer for Haveri Government Medical College Dr Uday Mulagund said that classes would start from the 2021-22 academic year. “There are some formalities we need to complete such as acquiring permission from the National Medical Council. We will have to start classes at a government engineering college initially till the building is completed,” Dr Mulagund said.
MLA Nehru Olekar expressed his gratitude to Yediyurappa for his effort in ensuring the materialisation of the project. “We have been fighting to get a medical college in Haveri for a decade,” he said.