Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi(KMDK) leaders on Wednesday assailed ruling party MLAs and Ministers in the Western region, accusing them of shying away from backing the people’s demand for establishment of AIIMS at Perundurai.
Addressing a demonstration by party men on the issue, KMDK general secretary E.R.Eswaran said certain individuals with vested interests were planning to scuttle the scope for establishment of AIIMS in Perundurai ignoring the larger picture.
Establishment of AIIMS in Perundurai will suit not only the people in the industrialised Western districts, but also the large labour workforce hailing from all parts of the State.
The people in the Western region, who are the worst sufferers of dreaded ailments like cancer caused by contamination of air and water with harmful chemicals, deserve quality treatment at affordable costs. The Government must not lose sight of the fact that it gets 50% of its revenue from the Western districts.
The Central and State governments ought to avoid pandering to personal whims of certain individuals, Mr. Eswaran said, citing the instance of construction of the Salem airport at the behest of vested interests. He said the huge investment had turned out to be a wasteful expenditure since the location along Dharmapuri Road was not ideal. Had the airport been established at the originally proposed location near Sankagiri, the industrial development in the region would have been phenomenally higher, he said.
