The famed public healthcare model of Kerala is under tremendous stress
he newly sworn-in United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala has announced its intention of setting up two more medical colleges in the State, one in Thiruvananthapuram, which already has a medical college, and another one in Haripad, in Alappuzha.
UDF leaders view the second medical college project in Thiruvananthapuram, which was originally launched during the tenure of Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, as a prestige issue as the subsequent governments of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) shot the plan down for political reasons. The Congress, which is back in power in the State after a decade, is bent on resurrecting its lost dream, which it believes would increase its public appeal and political stake in the capital city. K. Muraleedharan, the State Health Minister, has made it clear that nothing could prevent the UDF government from creating two more such institutions.
