BENGALURU/MANDYA: Mandya MLA Ganiga Ravikumar has fired off an explosive letter to Union Minister for Steel HD Kumaraswamy asking for the promised Trauma Care Centre in Mandya, saying, “Now, every minute lost is a life lost!”
The MLA told TNIE, “The Centre had originally sanctioned a Level-2 Trauma Centre for Mandya. But because land wasn’t available, they shifted it to Mysuru which is about 35-40 km away.
That decision is costing lives. This highway has killed more people than any other similar stretch in Karnataka. The golden hour is slipping away, while patients are rushed to Mysuru or Bengaluru.”
In the first year of opening, the Expressway had 550 accidents. Of them 188 were fatal, with 132 dead in just the first six months. The accidents came down by 60% and deaths below 50. In 2025 so far, there have been no fatalities thanks to cameras and Advanced Traffic Management Systems. But grievously injured still bleed out on the road.
“Mandya district alone saw 65 deaths in the first half of 2023. Even today, critically injured victims lose the golden hour travelling to Mysuru,” he said.
Kumaraswamy had earlier stated that the Union government can’t build until the state gives land. To that Ravikumar countered, “Land is ready. Can you please set up the centre. People are dying while files move from table to table.”