New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday remembered former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Health Minister Sushma Swaraj after inaugurating a super speciality trauma centre at Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences in Karnataka.
Noting Late Prime Minister Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Independence Day Address of 2003, Harsh Vardhan said, “Vajpayee's vision ensured that 56 years after independence, India was richer by another six AIIMS in addition to the existing one. Another 75 existing institutions were envisioned to be upgraded to provide AIIMS like service.”
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He also spoke of then Health Minister Sushma Swaraj’s enormous contribution to the PMSSY scheme and her life long association with Ballari. “They would have been very pleased about today's event. The people who would have been the happiest are not with us anymore.”
Harsh Vardhan also recollected his own experience of how Prime Minister Narendra Modi invested his personal attention and energy to take the scheme forward, “Phase III of PMSSY was announced only after 2019 and Ballari got its Trauma Centre within the next year. Work for the 74 medical colleges to be opened in the aspirational districts are in full swing.”
He informed everybody present that a new AIIMS for the State of Karnataka is under active consideration and of the four medical colleges that are being built, one each in the aspirational districts of Chikkamagaluru, Haveri, Yadgir and Chikkaballapur. He added that so far, 157 medical colleges have been opened with Central financing and local monitoring by the State administration.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Government to operationalise 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres by 31st December 2020. He also spoke of the government’s commitment “to eradicate TB, like smallpox and polio, 5 years before the global deadline in 2025.”
“Measles and Rubella will also be eliminated in due time,” he added. He spoke of the ‘Eat Right India’ and ‘Fit India’ movements launched by the government. “These will play a vital supplementary role in making the country healthy,” he stated.
He requested the State authorities and elected representatives present to personally monitor these schemes so that Karnataka can be a leader in the implementation of these programmes.
Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa thanked the Union Government for its proactive role in strengthening the health infrastructure in Karnataka.
He requested the Health and Family Welfare Minister to consider upgrading the ESI Hospital in Gulbarga to AIIMS so that people of the region are better served.
Anand Singh, Cabinet Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Government of Karnataka and District-in-charge Minister, Ballari, Sh. B. Sreeramulu, Minister of Health and Family Welfare & Backward Classes Welfare, Government of Karnataka, B. Devanand, Director, VIMS, Ballari were also present at the event.
The entire event was hosted by B. Nagendra, Member of Legislative Assembly, Karnataka for Ballari Rural Constituency.
