Sudha Murthy urges Centre to set up AIIMS in Karnataka's Raichur district

Murty said while the Centre had set up AIIMS in several states, Karnataka was yet to get one. She raised the matter during Zero Hour in the Upper House.

Citing decades of underdevelopment and poor healthcare infrastructure in north Karnataka, nominated Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murthy on Monday urged the Centre to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raichur district of Karnataka.

Murthy said while the Centre had set up AIIMS in several states, Karnataka was yet to get one. She raised the matter during Zero Hour in the Upper House.

"I am not asking for it to be set up in Huballi or Bengaluru but in Raichur district," she said.

Murthy said Raichur was among the most backward districts identified by NITI Aayog and that north Karnataka had remained neglected for over 260 years, in contrast to southern Karnataka which developed under the Mysore Wadiyars.

She said the region lacked adequate hospital infrastructure, forcing patients to travel to Hyderabad or Bengaluru for medical treatment. "The poor people there spend more on healthcare than those living in big cities like Bengaluru," he said.

The MP also flagged poor literacy rates in the district, with female literacy at 48 per cent and male literacy at 60 per cent.

Murthy said setting up an AIIMS in Raichur would improve healthcare access and also generate local employment and student enrollment under relevant constitutional provisions.

(with PTI inputs)