CM to lay foundation stone for RGUHS regional centre on Friday

Mangaluru: Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) is all set to establish its regional centre in Mangaluru. The foundation stone for the facility will be laid on Friday on the one-acre land acquired by the university near Mary Hill here.

Announcing this on Tuesday, Dr Shiva Sharan Shetty, a member of the RGUHS syndicate, told reporters the proposed centre will be built at a cost of Rs 45 crore and will have state-of-the-art healthcare facilities.

Iftikar Ali, the chairman of the Allied and Healthcare Council of Karnataka and a senate member of RGUHS, who is instrumental in bringing the regional centre to Mangaluru, said chief minister Siddaramaiah will lay the foundation stone.

"We will be adding a simulation centre, which costs about Rs 25 crore, in the coming days. The project is expected to be completed in two years," Ali added.

The plan for the centre, the proposal for which was first mooted five years ago, saw several changes, including the removal of a swimming pool from the project.

Over the past few years, RGUHS has established several regional centres to cater to the diverse medical education needs across Karnataka. These centres are designed to extend the university's reach, facilitate local administration, and provide specialised services across health sciences disciplines.

These regional centres help in decentralising operations, ensuring better access to educational resources, thereby strengthening healthcare education across the state.

Plans are also in place to use the centre for academic and sports purposes. It will double up as a digital evaluation centre, a training centre for medical UG/PG students, as well as a hub for cultural activities.