‘If state is against AIIMS in Thrissur, will be brought there itself’

KOCHI: Union Minister Suresh Gopi said that he wants AIIMS to be established in Kerala and that Thrissur is the most suitable location for it. He said that if the state government decides that AIIMS should not come to Thrissur simply because he is a BJP MP, he would bring the project there itself.

Suresh Gopi was speaking at an event held at a private hospital in Manjummel. The state government had submitted a list of nine locations to the Centre as suitable sites for setting up AIIMS in Kerala. Suresh Gopi was upset because Thrissur was excluded from the list.

Suresh Gopi said that if economic considerations were the criterion, AIIMS should be set up in Alappuzha. He also said he was tired of explaining the AIIMS issue. He criticised the organisers over the collapse of a temporary pandal during a sports event in Thrissur. He said such negligence had occurred at a time when the country was preparing for the Olympics.

Locations have been identified in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kottayam. The state government has requested that AIIMS be established at any one of these locations. The state has also informed the Centre that they are willing to provide whichever site the Centre considers suitable.

District representatives, among others, have come forward arguing that the most suitable location for AIIMS is land belonging to KPPL at Velloor. KPPL has around 700 acres of land under the industries department. They said that there would be no obstacle in acquiring 200 acres of this land for the project.