IDUKKI: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the Government Idukki Medical College in a specially set-up tent at the bus station at Cheruthony on Thursday.
Inauguration was carried out 17 days after the classes were begun, the reports said. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the government is determined to give top priority to health and educational development in the state. The government is bent on increasing the number of medical colleges from the present five to 16 by 2016, he said.
After coming to power, he said, the government has opened two medical colleges at Manjeri and Idukki, respectively, and the third one will be opened at Palakkad on Friday. Two more (at Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram) are in the consideration, whose paper work are getting advanced.
The government had taken over Kochi medical college, and discussions are on to bring to its fold the Pariyaram Co-operative Medical College also.
As far as the next set of medical colleges in Wayanad, Kasargod and Haripad are concerned, some land issues have hampered their progress but discussions are progressing, he said.
The Chief Minister took the opportunity to assert ‘creativity’ as the watchword of the the government. “Just talking would not do anything...one has to perform proactively...the new medical colleges are testification to it,” he said.
Finance Minister K M Mani, while speaking on the occasion, assured a dialysis unit in the new medical college in response to MLA Roshy Augustine’s recommendation.
There are 27 dialysis centres in the state and Idukki will be the 28th, he said. Mani reiterated chief minister’s words of adding more medical facilities in the state. Improving health and education would be the top priority of the government although there are financial hurdles, he said.
Water Resources Minister P J Joseph as well as Health Minister V S Sivakumar spoke on the occasion.
MLA Roshy Augustine took the occasion to appeal to the Chief Minister that distribution of pattayams be carried out swiftly.
Medical college special officer P G R Pillai appealed to the government that financial problems should not disturb the functions of the college, and that delays should be avoided in sanctioning the second year education.
‘Can’t Say No Got the Best of Me as FM’
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday said that he got into controversies during his stint as the Finance Minister owing to his habit of not turning down any demand.
It was for this force of habit that he had fallen prey to scathing criticisms, and even had led to the closure of the treasury three times, Chandy said while inaugurating the Government Idukki Medical College at Cheruthony.
Such things can happen to any government. What good is a government if it can’t meet the aspirations of the people, he said.
Stating that the government would not digress an inch from its roadmap to development, despite the financial constraints, Chandy said that he had an astute Finance Minister K M Mani, who is capable of managing the show with great caution, steering clear of trouble unlike him.