AIIMS in Madurai will be on par with one in Delhi: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that the Centre would ensure that the AIIMS in Madurai is on par with the one in Delhi. He also said that the Central government was committed to developing aspirational districts by providing needed medical infrastructure. While speaking in Ramanathapuram, he lauded the State government for its steps towards improving public health.

Terming child mortality a national shame, he said that the State Health Department should be more proactive in curbing it. “Officials should take it as a challenge to bring down child mortality rate to zero in the State,” he said. The Centre has already released 23 crore to the Tamil Nadu government as the first installment of its funding to establish the government Ramanathapuram medical college and hospital, he said, adding that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), to be established in Madurai, would be on a par with that in Delhi.

‘CM, Dy CM for the people’

While speaking in Virudhunagar, Harsh Vardhan said, “Being farmers themselves, the chief minister and the deputy chief minister always put the welfare of the public first.” On the issues faced by the firecracker industry, he said, “When I heard about problems faced by the firecracker industry in Sivakasi during the India International Science Festival, I appealed to the science community to come up with a solution that would satisfy needs of the industry and meet requirements in the court order.

Within a year, they came up with the concept of green crackers, thereby helping thousands of Sivakasi workers.”On medical college projects in India, the Union Minister said that, out of the proposed 75 medical colleges across the country, 11 were sanctioned to Tamil Nadu and the foundation-stone laying of all of them would be completed within this month. “Through National Health Mission, we shall provide the best support to Tamil Nadu and its health officials to ensure that the needs of the people are fulfilled.”

Red-carpet welcome

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who was enroute to Ramanathapuram and Virudhuinagar, received warm welcome from the party cadre and public in Madurai on Sunday. He was received at the airport, Ramnad Ring Road Junction, Thirumangalam, Melakottai, Sivarakottai and Kallikudi. The reception was organised by ministers Sellur K Raju, RB Udhayakumar and Madurai North MLA VV Rajan Chellappa. Cabinet ministers and senior government officials accompanied the chief minister.