Karnataka

Forced to travel 100 km for treatment, Kodagu residents seek better medical facilities

Written by : TNM Staff

Inspired by residents of Uttara Kannada who ran a Twitter campaign recently seeking a super speciality hospital in their districts, people from Kodagu have started a similar drive seeking emergency healthcare services in the district.

On Wednesday evening, #WeNeedEmergencyHospitalInKodagu trended on Twitter. In most of the tweets,Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha have been tagged. The CM has not reacted to the demand yet, unlike previously, when a similar demand was made for Uttara Kannada.

 

 

The tourist hotspot of Kodagu is a hilly district in the lap of Western Ghats and covers an area of 4,102 sq km. Even today, however, the district does not have a major hospital. The residents have been forced to travel more than a hundred kilometres, either to Mangaluru or Mysuru, to avail benefits of advanced medicine, even in case of an emergency.

While both Kumaraswamy and Simha have not responded yet, the BJP unit of Karnataka tweeted in support.

“People of Kodagu & Uttara Kannada have been demanding #WeNeedEmergencyHospitalInKodagu & #WeNeedEmergencyHospitalInUK BJP completely supports their demand & we urge @CMofKarnataka to act on this regard. Super speciality hospitals should be set in every district of Karnataka,” it said,

 

 

Support also came from celebrity and film star Shivaraj Kumar.

“I heard that there's a scarcity of hospitals in Coorg. You need not worry, we are all united. On behalf of the industry, I request the government to construct a hospital with facilities as soon as possible because it's a basic necessity and should be present in every small town and village,” the actor said, in a video that is now being widely shared.

 

 

Many Kodagu residents and supporters of the cause pointed out the historical neglect faced by the district, in spite of it being the origin of Cauvery and many stated that many athletes and soldiers hail from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environmentalists, who have been fighting the state and central governments over the contentious rail project in the district, have also come forward to support this cause.

 

 

The demand for such a medical facility has been long pending but successive governments have not taken any steps in this direction.


 
 

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