The People’s Movement for AIIMS Hospital in Madurai (PMAHM) has termed the speech of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami during the birth centenary celebrations of former CM M.G. Ramachandran here on Friday as disappointing since he made no mention about the setting up of All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Madurai.
A statement issued by the PMAHM’s chief coordinator V.S. Manimaran on Saturday said that the roughly 2.6 crore population of Madurai and southern districts were eagerly expecting the CM to announce that AIIMS hospital allocated for Tamil Nadu would be set up in Thoppur near Madurai.
“The PMAHM had earlier made representations directly to the CM and the Chief Secretary, Girija Vaidyanathan. We had also carried out a protest in Chennai recently. Hence the expectations were high,” he said.
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Arguing both M.G.R and late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had executed several developmental projects only from Madurai, Mr. Manimaran termed the speech of Mr. Palaniswami as ‘shocking and saddening’. Urging him to soon make the announcement that the hospital would be set up in Madurai, PMAHM has said that it would otherwise organise a protest with public participation on the highway near Thoppur to highlight the demand. The statement also thanked Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan, who gave an assurance in a recent interview that the AIIMS hospital would be set up in Madurai.