Will the hunt for AIIMS site end with Thanjavur?

Finding manpower will be easy as Thanjavur has a reputed medical college

When the team deputed by the Union Health Ministry scouting for a suitable location for establishing an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Tamil Nadu comes calling here on Friday, the district administration, backed by public interest groups, is eager to press the case of Thanjavur.

With the city already on the medical tourist map of the region for several decades now, establishment of an AIIMS at Sengipatti could serve not just Thanjavur but also Tiruchi, Pudukkottai and a clutch of eastern and southern districts of the State.

Sources in the administration indicate that the officials are just banking on the excellent logistics and land availability of the suggested 200-odd acres of centrally located land at Sengipatti accessible equally from Thanjavur, Tiruchi, and Pudukkottai but pressing the case of Thanjavur as the best bet what with the city already having the basic foundation for any grand super speciality medical research and outreach institution in the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital which has turned out hundreds of medical professionals to serve the public in the past 50 years.

“Two important factors bolster the case of Thanjavur — it’s strategic location and abundance of medical facilities and support institutions for outreach and academic research activities essential for the growth of AIIMS-like institutions.

Institutional support from several Union Government-sponsored entities such as BHEL, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, OFT, and the NIT could be counted upon in Thanjavur,” said a couple of doctors in the city discussing the project.

More importantly, qualified and experienced medical professionals might find it easier to base themselves in Thanjavur, where professional experience sharing could add to their advantage. Continuing medical education and virtual medical facilities have taken deep roots here and that would help in the vertical take off for a new AIIMS rather than a place where sub-zero spade work was essential, they point out.

There is the upcoming SIDCO industrial estate near the Sengipatti site and the State government could easily create a pharma manufacturing cluster there adding to the advantage, the professionals say.