Gopi reaffirms call for AIIMS in Alappuzha, Chennithala extends support

Thrissur (Kerala), Sep 21 (PTI) Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Sunday reiterated that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) must be established in Alappuzha, describing it as essential for the coastal district's development.

While interacting with a small group of people in a village in this central Kerala district, Gopi said Alappuzha lags behind other districts in terms of health infrastructure and general development.

"If we compare 13 districts, Alappuzha is even behind Idukki. This district is facing major hardship. Establishing AIIMS here is crucial for its progress," the Minister of State for Tourism, Petroleum and Natural Gas said.

Gopi said that if political objections prevent the project from coming to Alappuzha, he would ensure it is shifted to Thrissur, his constituency.

He also highlighted that, as the first BJP MP elected from Kerala, he would place the request before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister JP Nadda.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Harippad MLA Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday backed calls for establishing an AIIMS in Alappuzha, saying the coastal district remained backward in terms of health facilities and deserved priority.

At the same time, in Kasaragod district, National Service Scheme (NSS) students of St Pius X College, Rajapuram, sent a mass memorandum by post to the Prime Minister, the Union Health Minister, the Kerala Chief Minister, Union Minister Gopi and State Health Minister Veena George.

They urged the leaders to intervene and press for AIIMS in Kerala’s northernmost district, arguing that the backwardness of Kasaragod was "unparalleled".

Earlier, the BJP had called on the state government to urgently provide land for the AIIMS project in Alappuzha.

The party had alleged that the Union government was actively working to bring AIIMS to the district, but the state government remained silent on land allocation. PTI TGB TGB KH