Madanapalle TB sanatorium faces fund crunch

M Srinivasa Murthy Chittoor: The Arogyavaram Medical Centre was established in 1912 at Madanapalle in Chittoor district, to provide treatment for those suffering from dreaded disease Tuberculosis (TB). The centre, which has brought revolutionary changes in the medical field by giving a fresh lease of life to several patients, is facing a fund crunch. It was in this sanatorium that pioneering research was done and a new medicine for TB and the BCG vaccine was invented. The hospital was the first of its kind in South India. The services of this hospital were lauded by India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru during his visit to this hospital in 1952 along with several national leaders. In 1955, the then Union Health Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur inaugurated a special ward in the hospital for treating children. This hospital was also the recipient of several awards from the Government of India. A Although the annual expenditure has crossed Rs 60 lakh for providing food and medicines to the patients, who are undergoing treatment here, the State government was releasing only Rs 15 lakh which is inadequate. It is unfortunate that such a famous hospital is forced to depend on philanthropists for funds. The top officials of the hospital are having a tough time in mobilising funds and running the hospital. The government should have been more liberal in sanctioning funds. If the Central and State governments continue to be indifferent towards the hospital in sanctioning funds, the patients would be deprived of treatment. Speaking to the media, Director of Arogyavaram Medical Centre Dr Bonam Wesley said that the State government had not released funds for the last three years and they were not even in a position to pay salaries to the staff. He said that the sanatorium was in dire straits. He expressed the hope that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who hails from this district, would take special interest to bail out the sanatorium from financial crisis.