The Hindu : Karnataka News : Medical college: another team for Bangalore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 20, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Medical college: another team for Bangalore

By Our Special Correspondent

SHIMOGA, DEC. 19. The Shimoga Development Forum (Shimoga Abhivruddhi Vedike), comprising various political parties and organisations, which met here on Sunday, decided to take another delegation to Bangalore shortly to urge the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, to ensure that the formalities of forwarding an application to the Centre for starting a Government Medical College in Shimoga were completed before he visits Shimoga district.

The Chief Minister is scheduled to participate in the concluding function of birth centenary celebrations of the poet laureate Kuvempu at Kuppalli in Tirthahalli taluk on December 29.

`No progress'

The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, B.S. Yediyurappa, said that there has been no progress with regard to the Government's initiative in starting the Medical College here except that the Chief Minister has written to the Centre requesting it to include Shimoga in the list of the places where it proposed to open Government Medical Colleges, condoning the delay in submitting the formal application for it.

Mr. Yediyurappa expressed the confidence that Mr. Singh would respond positively to the demand voiced by the Forum and would make the announcement at the Kuppalli's function. "It is not our intention to embarrass the Chief Minister at the Kuppalli function by holding a protest demonstration to press for the medical college. But if it becomes inevitable in view of the continued negligence of the Government, we will not hesitate to do it," he said. He said that the people were not opposed to the establishment of a private medical college in Shimoga, but they were keen that it should not come in way of the government medical college being sanctioned for the district.The former MLA Karianna said that the demand for the Government medical college should be made out to the Chief Minister at Kuppalli in a proper way without causing any embarrassment to him.

The State general secretary of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (Puttannaiah Group), H.R. Basavarajappa, said the delay in sanctioning the Government medical college was yet another instance to show that Shimoga district was being neglected.

Officials blamed

The Shimoga MLA, K.S. Eshwarappa, blamed the Secretary to the Health Department, D.V. Prasad, for the delay in submitting the formal application to the Centre for a Government medical college. He alleged that the officials had not done any work in following the procedure to seek the Centre's permission for the Government Medical College after the Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Centre.

The former Shimoga MP and Congress leader Ayanur Manjunath said that the Government medical college could not be obtained only through expressing "anger." He alleged that the legislators from Shimoga failed to pressure the Government for the medical college.

The Hosnagar MLA, Hartalu Halappa, suggested that another delegation be taken to Bangalore to urge the Chief Minister to sanction the Government medical college soon.

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