KASARAGOD: Renowned social activist Daya Bai threw her weight behind the civil society group demanding that the state government recognise Kasaragod as a potential district to set up the proposed All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).
"It is a just demand of the people of Kasaragod. The people in the district suffer from a variety of health conditions triggered by the aerial spraying of endosulfan. An AIIMS will guarantee they have access to the best healthcare India can offer," she said.
Daya Bai (82) also said there was no justification in the state government picking Kozhikode to set up AIIMS. "It should be the last district to get AIIMS because Kozhikode already has at least six super specialty hospitals and a medical college," she said.
The state government had written to the Union government proposing Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. But Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has zeroed in on Kozhikode by identifying 200 acres at the KSIDC Industrial Growth Center at Kinaloor in Kozhikode for the project. He has categorically ruled out considering Kasaragod as a potential site for AIIMS.
The Chief Minister will have to change his stance, Daya Bai said.
The civil society in Kasaragod has been sitting on a relay hunger strike for the past 22 days to press the government to include it in the list of proposed sites for AIIMS.
Fareena Kottapuram, a school teacher and general convenor of the collective, said many patients in the district have lost their lives because their condition was not detected and identified early.
"Kasaragod doesn't have a tertiary care hospital. The doctors are not equipped to help seriously patients. And poor caregivers do not have the wherewithal to go to hospitals in other districts," Fareena said.
She cited the example of Ameya, the five-year-old daughter of Manu and Sumithra, who died on December 27.
Ameya had several genetic disorders, her legs were bent, had a hunch on her back and her head was growing faster. She could move only her hands.
But her Dalit parents could not find doctors in Kasaragod to treat her. They were poor and so hesitant to leave the district in search of proper medical care.
On October 6, where the Endosulfan Peethitha Janakeeya Munanni, an NGO in Kasaragod, organised a protest in Thiruvananthapuram to press the government to appoint neurologists in the district, Sumithra tagged along with her daughter. "Sumithra thought she would have someone to take her daughter to a better hospital," said Fareena.
Jaya Anto Mangalath -- a nun who was part of the NGO's protest -- took Sumithra and Ameya to Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST). The doctors gave medicines and recommended scanning to understand her condition.
Jyothi Narayanan, a teacher in Kochi, offered to sponsor Ameya's treatment.
On December 15, when Ameya was brought to Sree Chitra Tirunal hospital again, the doctors recommended another scan to gauge the impact of their treatment, said Fareena.
But on December 27 her condition deteriorated and she was taken to the District Hospital in Kanhangad.
"She started vomiting, her kidneys failed and doctors had no clue on what to do. But they shifted her to the ICU saying there was no time to shift her to any other hospital," she said.
By evening, Ameya died. "Her poor parents were shocked," said Fareena. "There are many cases where children have died for lack of proper medical treatment in the district. There are also cases where parents who could afford expensive treatments saved the lives of their children by taking them to Mangaluru and Bengaluru," she said.
Ambalathara Kunhikrishnan, coordinator of the AIIMS Kasaragod collective, said Kasaragod had land, uninterrupted power supply, railway, and National Highway connectivity, and is sandwiched between to international airports in Mangaluru and Kannur, with another airstrip coming up at Periya. "Except for political will, there is nothing Kasaragod lacks to have AIIMS," he said.
The veteran social worker, who has fought for many causes, said the civil society in Kasaragod felt let down by the politicians. "MPs and MLAs cutting across political parties in Kozhikode are trying to get AIIMS to their district. But in Kasaragod, the MLAs of the ruling LDF have backed off from fighting for their district," he said.
On July 9, 2014, all the five MLAs of Kasaragod district, led by CPI's E Chandrasekharan, submitted a petition to the then chief minister Oommen Chandy to initiate steps to consider Kasaragod as a potential site to set up AIIMS. Even the then MP P Karunakaran, a member of CPM's central committee, raised the same demand. "But now they backed off. It hurts the people," he said.
Solidarity Day
The AIIMS For Kasaragod collective said its relay hunger strike has created awareness among the people for the demand. It called on people to hit the street on February 7 to express solidarity with the cause. Daya Bai would be visiting schools, colleges, and workplaces across the district in the next three days to nudge students to raise the demand. "I want all the people of the district to take to streets demanding AIIMS in Kasaragod. It is a just demand. Make it a big protest," she said.
The collective said it will also be organising programmes at 300 places on February 7.