Several residents took to the streets to demand that the Government of Kerala consider Kasaragod as the location for setting up the premier research and medical institute of India, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). School and college students, professionals, traders, fish sellers, taxi drivers plus elderly women and men joined the AIIMS for Kasaragod campaign and used placards and posters to make their demands known.
At over 300 places, solidarity meets were organised by AIIMS Kasaragod People's Collective and at another 300 places, voluntary events were conducted, informed Nazar Cherkalam, an organiser of the movement. "We believe around 5,000 persons joined the movement and expressed their solidarity with our demand," he added.
At 7:30 pm near Kasaragod railway station, a candlelight vigil was organised. And in the morning hours, Daya Bai, the renowned social worker, inaugurated a district-level function at Swamiji's Higher Secondary School, Edneer. She shared that the union government should sanction an AIIMS for Kerala and the state government should consider setting it up in Kasaragod.
Over the last four days, Daya Bai has dropped by schools, colleges and even offices so that she could meet as many people as possible to mobilise support for the cause.
Meanwhile, students of Navabharat Science College at Nayanmarmoola organised solidarity meet on campus and Chinmaya Vidyalaya students help up posters that stated, 'AIIMS in Kasaragod can save thousands of lives'. Yet another poster stated, 'AIIMS is our AIM'. The civil society group, AIIMS Kasaragod Collective, organised a relay hunger strike in Kasaragod and it has completed 26 days.
