New Delhi, March 16 Nominated Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murty urged the Centre on Monday to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the Raichur district of Karnataka, citing decades of underdevelopment and poor healthcare infrastructure in northern Karnataka.
Raising the matter during Zero Hour in the Upper House, Murty said while the Centre had set up AIIMS in several states, Karnataka was yet to get one.
"I am not asking for it to be set up in Hubli or Bengaluru, but in the Raichur district," she said.
Murty said Raichur was among the most backward districts identified by NITI Aayog, and that northern 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," she said.
The MP also highlighted the poor literacy rates in the district, with female literacy at 48 per cent and male literacy at 60 per cent.
Murty said setting up an AIIMS in Raichur would improve healthcare access and also generate local employment and student enrollment under relevant constitutional provisions.