President wants CUK school to help endosulfan victims

Call to focus on providing affordable medical care

President Pranab Mukherjee at the maiden convocation ceremony of the Central University of Kerala on its Periye campus in Kasaragod on Friday. Governor Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and CUK Chancellor V.L. Chopra and acting Vice Chancellor Jacob Chacko are present. Photo: K. Vinaya Kumar

President Pranab Mukherjee has expressed the hope that the school of medicine planned at the Central University of Kerala (CUK) will help carry out research to mitigate the ordeal of endosulfan victims in the district.

“In the context of the unfortunate endosulfan tragedy in Kasaragod, I welcome the initiative to establish a school of medicine and public health,” Mr. Mukherjee said at the maiden convocation ceremony at the CUK, in his capacity as Visitor to the institution, on Friday.

He said the school should be the much-needed platform for higher learning and research in all systems of medicine, with emphasis on community health care and affordable medical treatment, especially for the endosulfan victims.

Classical language

Pointing out that Malayalam had attained the classical language status last year, Mr. Mukherjee said the classical language centre envisaged by the university would provide a platform for research in various aspects of the local language, literature, and culture.

He said he was delighted to visit the CUK in Kasaragod in Malabar, which, he said, had socio-historical significance.

Mr. Mukherjee said despite the glorious past, the region had lagged behind in terms of development. To restore its rightful place as a centre of growth, the CUK was established in 2009. The President said he was happy to name the CUK campus as ‘Tejaswini Hills,’ named after a river flowing through the region.

“This university has also set up a centre in Thiruvananthapuram. I compliment university authorities for quickly responding to the recommendation for establishing centres in State capitals made at a conference of Vice Chancellors of central universities at Rashtrapati Bhavan last year,” he said. Mr. Mukherjee said the university by awarding degrees to its students had attained an important landmark in its journey of continuous development. “It is indeed a moment of pride, joy, satisfaction, and fulfilment for the students and the university community,” he added.

He earlier reached the venue by road from Mangalore. The President later left for Mangalore by road as he could not reach the venue by helicopter.