Demands for AIIMS in Varanasi

Varanasi: Eminent author Kashinath Singh demanded Sunday for setting up a separate and full-fledged AIIMS in the outskirts of the city or in its adjoining districts.

An MoU was exchanged on August 4 between the Ministries of HRD, Health and Family Welfare and the UP government for upgrading the IMS-BHU to the level of AIIMS here.

Singh, along with famous personalities of various fields Sunday held a meeting at the Paradkar Bhawan and discussed the issue.

They have also decided to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a lawmaker from the temple town, to press for the demand.

Singh, a former professor of Hindi in Banaras Hindu University, who had received the Sahitya Akademi award in 2011 for his Hindi novel 'Rehan Par Raghu', urged Modi to pay attention to their demand as it would be the real service to Mahamana Malaviyaji in order to serve the needy patients.

Banaras Hindu University's cardiologist Om Shakar said BHU hospital is already crowded and its upgradation will not fulfil the desired goal as people visiting the hospital have to face traffic jams in the city.

He said the new AIIMS can be built at the city outskirts like Adalpura, Shahanshahpur or even at Babatpur, where patients may not have to face the traffic jam problem.

The prime minister during his last visit to his parliamentary constituency had mentioned that BHU will function like AIIMS after its upgradation.