The Hindu : Karnataka News : New twist to row over inauguration of hospital block

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

New twist to row over inauguration of hospital block

By Pramod Mellegatti

The new block of McGann Hospital in Shimoga which is awaiting inauguration.

SHIMOGA, MAY 11. The controversy over the inauguration of the extended portion of McGann Hospital here following the difference of opinion on it between the former Chief Minister, S. Bangarappa, and the Health and Family Welfare Minister, Kagodu Thimmappa, who is the district in-charge Minister, has taken a new twist.

The inaugural function has been postponed again after it was decided to be inaugurated today by the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna. It was officially announced this morning that the inaugural function had been postponed in view of the cancellation of the Chief Minister's programme.

The inauguration of the extended portion of the hospital appears to be jinxed as it has been postponed twice.

The manner in which a function to inaugurate the new block was fixed a day before counting of votes came in for criticism. A project to modernise the hospital at an estimated cost of Rs. 18 crore was initiated during the regime of Mr. Bangarappa.

But the project was shelved after Mr. Bangarappa's exit as Chief Minister. The successive governments led by M. Veerappa Moily and J.H. Patel took little interest in taking up the project.

It was only in 1999 the hospital saw rapid development with the Congress Government taking interest in ensuring the early completion of the project with assistance from World Bank. Mr. Thimmappa wants the new block to be inaugurated by Mr. Krishna.

When it was proposed for inauguration last year, Mr. Bangarappa objected to it stating that there was no point in inaugurating the new block when the hospital was not fully equipped to give specialised treatment.

Again when it was officially announced that the new block would be inaugurated by the Chief Minister on January 27, supporters of Mr. Bangarappa took exception to it stating that they would not allow the function to take place as their leader, who was responsible for the development of the hospital, was not given any role in the function. They had also destroyed the pandal put up for the function. Fearing that the confrontation might lead to ugly scenes, the Government postponed the inaugural function.

Activists of the BJP, who took exception to non-inclusion of Mr. Bangarappa's name in the invitation, have threatened to obstruct the function.

Terming the inauguration of the new block by the Chief Minister "immoral'' and "undemocratic'', the BJP district unit Vice-President, R.K. Siddharamanna, wondered how the Government could do it when the Assembly had been dissolved.

He demanded that the inauguration be postponed and the new Government decide on it.

He said a delegation of the BJP had submitted a memorandum to the district administration demanding that the inaugural function be put off in view of the opposition to it.

Meanwhile, the Shantaveri Gopalagowda Samajawadi Adhyayana Kendra Trust has questioned the propriety of holding a function to inaugurate the new block when it was informally inaugurated by the freedom fighter, H. Ganapathiappa, recently in protest against the delay in declaring it open.

However, the Government did not recognise the inauguration of the new block by Mr. Ganapathiappa and went ahead with its decision to have it inaugurated by the Chief Minister.

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