Hyderabad, Aug 24: Union Minister of State for Railways Bandaru Dattatreya today urged Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to consider the proposal to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here. In a letter to Vajpayee, who had announced setting up of AIIMS at different locations in the country to provide medical facilities to the poor, Dattatreya said Hyderabad caters to the backward areas of north Karnataka and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra besides Andhra Pradesh.


The medical facilities available in Hyderabad, which were predominantly in the corporate sector, generally cater to elite sections of society, he said. The poor would be immensely benefited if AIIMS was established in the state capital here, Dattatreya said.

Dattatreya, who represents Secunderabad parliamentary constituency, said Hyderabad, which become a medical hub, was Centre to many life science research institutes and universities. Medical research would get an impetus if AIIMS was set up here, he stressed.

The Union minister said Hyderabad has a large number of employees working in various central government establishments defence institutes and national research centres. A premier medical institute like AIIMS would go a long way in securing the health of these employees, he said. Bureau Report