Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has written a letter to union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking the establishment of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raichur district.

It has been the long-standing demand of the state that an AIIMS like institute be established here to be able to cater to the medical needs of patients while also boosting the number of medical colleges in the state.

Even in 2023, medical education minister Sharan Prakash Patil had said that the union government has agreed to set up an AIIMS in the Kalyana Karnataka region. However, there has been no development in this front.

Seeking that this be announced in the Central Budget of 2024-25, Siddaramaiah wrote in the letter, “As you are aware, Raichur is an aspirational district, coming under Kalyana Karnataka region, where Healthcare, Education and Per Capita income levels are still subpar as compared to other regions of Karnataka. The Raichur District is in an urgent need to establish a high quality Referral Medical Centre.

“The proposal of establishing an AIIMS in Karnataka is pending for quite some time. The State Government, on consideration of possible locations, is of the view that Raichur is the most suitable place to establish an AIIMS. I would, therefore, request you to include the establishment of AIIMS at Raichur in the forthcoming Budget of 2024-25.”

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