Karnataka - Shimoga   

BJP surprised at Govt.'s U-turn

By Our Special Correspondent

SHIMOGA, SEPT. 14. D.H. Shankaramurthy, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, has taken exception to the volte face by M. Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister for Water Resources and Transport, on the establishment of a government medical college in Shimoga.

Mr. Shankarmurthy told presspersons here on Tuesday that the Minister had stated in the legislature that the Government would start four medical colleges and that Shimoga would definitely get one medical college. But Mr. Kharge had changed his stand when he addressed the gathering while laying the foundation for the Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital at Malligenahalli near here, which will be part of the Shivappa Nayak Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS).

The BJP leader said the Minister sought to put the blame on the local legislators, stating that they did not make out a case for a government medical college. That was not the case. Surprisingly, Shimoga did not figure in the list of five places where the Government proposed to start medical colleges.

Mr. Shankaramurthy said the Secretary for Health and Family Welfare, D.V. Prasad, had written to his counterpart at the Centre stating that the State Government had decided to start five medical colleges in places where it was needed. Mr. Prasad said the Government had decided to start the medical colleges in Mandya, Belgaum, Bidar, Raichur, and Hassan. He said the letter did not make any mention about the Government starting a medical college in Shimoga.

K.S. Eshwarappa, Shimoga MLA, said that an all-party delegation comprising representatives of various professional bodies would be taken to Bangalore soon to take up the matter with the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh.

No private colleges

Meanwhile, the former Minister and MLA from Holehonnur, G. Basavannappa, said the private medical college should not be allowed to come up in Shimoga as the college did not have the required infrastructure. He told presspersons that since there was no government medical college in the Malnad belt comprising Shimoga, Uttara Kannada, Chikmagalur, and Hassan districts, it should be sanctioned to Shimoga, which had better infrastructure. He said the college could be located temporarily at the Sahyadri College here.

IMA supports demand

The Shimoga branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has appealed to Kuvempu University to take the lead in persuading the Government to permit it to start a medical college to mark the birth centenary of poet laureate Kuvempu.

K.A. Ashok Pai, president of the IMA (Shimoga branch) and noted psychiatrist, said the Vice-Chancellor of the university, K. Chidananda Gowda, had been requested to take the lead in approaching the Government to sanction a medical college that could be run as a constituent college of the university.

Rudre Gowda, president of the Shimoga District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber would support the establishment of a government medical college.

M. Bharadwaj, Director of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, suggested that an all-party delegation be taken to Bangalore on the matter.

J.S. Sadananda, Professor in Kuvempu University, said the university would make a request to the Government to allow it to start a medical college.

H.N. Sathya, Convenor of "Nanna Kanasina Shimoga", spoke.

VC's response

The Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu University, K. Chidananda Gowda, said on Tuesday that the university would respond favourably to the request of the IMA.

He said would approach the Government soon with a request to allow it to start its own medical college as a constituent college making use of the infrastructure available at the Government's McGann Hospital for clinical purposes. He said the university could also make use of the space available in its property in Shimoga for the construction of the medical college building.

Prof. Gowda said starting a medical college by the university assumed sentimental value as the late Kuvempu had made extensive references to McGann Hospital in his autobiography, Nenapina Doniyalli.

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