There is a huge expectation from industry sector in the Kongu region that the ruling party will acknowledge the traditional support it has been receiving from the electorate in the Western districts by way of recommending Perundurai as the ideal location for the proposed AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences).
Appeal
Representatives of CII Erode Zone and other industry and trade organisations are learnt to have appealed to the government to grant Erode district the hitherto elusive privilege of having a central institution, in the wake of the Union Government’s Budget announcement that one of the five AIIMS will be set up in Tamil Nadu during the year.
Perundurai in Erode district is one of the five locations where the State Government conducted feasibility studies were made based on land availability, road connectivity, air connectivity, and a few other factors.
The other four locations under consideration are Pudukkottai town in Pudukkottai district, Thoppur in Madurai district, Sengipatti in Thanjavur, and Chengalpattu in Kancheepuram district.
Most of all, the medical fraternity strongly believes Perundurai must be the natural choice due to the relative advantages it has.
At the outset, there is no need to build an institution from the scratch.
It would be highly convenient for the State Government to hand over the 600-bedded IRT Medical College in Perundurai run by the Transport Department, said State secretary of Indian Medical Association C.N. Raja.
The Union Government ought to narrow down its choice of location of AIIMS to Erode to recompense for the neglect of Western region for establishment of any central institution of repute since Independence, said U.R.C. Devarajan, vice-chairman, CII Erode Zone.
According to Dr. Raja, the Union Government must also consider Erode's proximity to Kerala while making a choice of the location.
Perundurai fulfils key requisites: road and railway connectivity, and availability of land in abundance.
Occurrence of non-communicable diseases, particularly cancer, diabetes and hypertension, is high in the Western region apparently due to the industrialisation. Even people belonging to socio-economic backward sections are affected by such diseases due to the high pollution level, Dr. Raja, who hails from Erode district, said, making a case for AIIMS in Perundurai.
The medical college of Transport Department can be used for the purpose
Whole of western region will benefit
