Kozhikode: Olympian and Rajya Sabha MP PT Usha raised Kerala’s long-standing demand for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the upper house of the Parliament on Tuesday. She told the house that Kerala deserves an AIIMS and called for the Central government to establish the institute in Kinaloor, Kozhikode.

Usha, who is also the Indian Olympic Association president, raised the demand after the Union Budget skipped awarding the institute to Kerala.

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Kerala's long-standing demand 
"AIIMS is Kerala’s long-standing demand from the central government. The state needs the institute to provide the most advanced and comprehensive healthcare for its people. Kerala gives top priority to establishing AIIMS in Kozhikode’s Kinaloor. Most of the land required for the project is government-owned, so no additional funds would be needed to acquire land. The state has also identified land for future development of the institute," said PT Usha.

"The AIIMS project requires 200 acres of land. Kerala has already acquired over 150 acres. I have also surrendered 5 acres of land from the Usha School (Athletics) for the project. The government plans to acquire an additional 100 acres from private parties. Kinaloor is located in a key part of Malabar, making it easily accessible to people from Nilgiri, Coimbatore, Mysuru, Coorg and other parts of Malabar. It is only 23 km from the National Highway. I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the necessary interventions to bring AIIMS to Kerala."

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Recently, Union Minister Suresh Gopi, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, announced that the central government would establish AIIMS in Kerala, but he proposed Alappuzha as the location. 

Suresh Gopi also stated that the Pinarayi Vijayan government had refused to include Alappuzha on the list of eligible locations for the project. He vowed to initiate the work for AIIMS in Kerala before the end of his term as the Union Minister.

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In 2014, then-Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the central government’s plan to establish an AIIMS in Kerala. Till date, 22 AIIMS have been approved under various phases across the country, but Kerala is still waiting for a green light from the Centre.

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