Demand for second AIIMS for Bengal sparks debate
Raiganj: Kartik Paul, BJP MP of Raiganj, has sparked a debate over healthcare infrastructure in North Bengal by writing to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urging her to request for a second All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Hospital from the Central government. Paul suggested that Raiganj, in North Dinajpur district, is an ideal location for the facility.
According to Paul, the Central government is willing to consider setting up the second AIIMS of the state in North Bengal if a formal request comes from the state. This appeal reignites an old controversy over the region’s healthcare needs, with the BJP MP emphasizing the area’s struggle for adequate medical facilities.
The controversy dates back to 2008, when veteran Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi fell critically ill in his home in Kaliyaganj, North Dinajpur, and had to be airlifted to Delhi due to the lack of proper treatment facilities in the region.
Following this incident, the UPA government decided to establish an AIIMS in Raiganj. However, the then-Left Front government failed to acquire the necessary land, leading to the project’s relocation to Kalyani in Nadia district around seven years ago during the TMC reign.
Kartik Paul said: “TMC-led state government shifted AIIMS from Raiganj to Kalyani. It was a great deprivation for the people of North Bengal. I have appealed to JP Nadda, Union Health Minister, for another AIIMS. But he said that this request should come in from the state government. So in a letter, I urged the state Chief Minister to raise the demand to the Central government considering its need for the people of North Bengal.”
Krishna Kalyani, MLA of Raiganj, responded by stating that the state is willing to provide land if the Central government first sanctions the project. Meanwhile, Mohit Sengupta, president of the North Dinajpur Congress Committee, accused both the BJP and TMC of playing politics. He claimed that Congress originally pushed for the AIIMS to improve healthcare in the region, but alleged that conspiracies by both parties led to the shift to Kalyani.
