Sudhakar seeks Central aid for Yettinahole water project, new medical colleges and upgrading of PHCs in Karnataka
NEW DELHI:
On a 3-day visit to the national capital to seek Central aid for various Karnataka projects, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar met Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan and Union Railways, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday.
Dr Sudhakar, who is also the in-charge Minister of Chikkaballapur district in the Old Mysore region of Karnataka, requested Shekhawat to accord national project status to the Yettinahole project, which aims to provide drinking water to more than 1.25 crore people in Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru and other drought-prone districts in southern Karnataka. Dr Sudhakar also sought a special package through the convergence of Jal Shakti, MNREGA and 15th Finance Commission for desilting of lakes in districts that are dependent on rainwater for irrigation and drinking water. He also sought extension of the Krishna river project from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh to bordering districts in Karnataka.
Kidwai regional centres
During his meeting with Dr Harshvardhan, Sudhakar requested approval and funds for regional centres of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in other parts of the state. He also sought quick release of funds for new medical colleges being established under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and also support for setting up an Allied Health Sciences Institute in the state. Sudhakar asked for an increased supply of 1.5 crore vaccines per month to meet the growing demand in the state. He also sough aid for upgrading 250 PHCs in the state annually.
Given the close proximity of Chikkaballapur to Bengaluru International Airport and the National Highway, Sudhakar sought the support of Union Minister Piyush Goyal for the development of Chikkaballapur as an industrial hub. He also requested Goyal to extend the Bengaluru Suburban Rail and Metro to Chikkaballapur, which is about 60 km from Bengaluru.
The Karnataka minister requested Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to expedite work on NH 234 and four-laning of the road connecting NH7 and Nandi Hills, a popular tourist spot near Bengaluru.
Sudhakar also met Niti Aayog member Dr VK Paul to discuss matters related to public healthcare.
Senior officials of the Karnataka Health Department accompanied the Health Minister.
