Udupi : Finally, decades–old govt. maternity and child care hospital downs its shutters
Udupi, September 24: The Haji Abdulla Hospital, known as the government maternity and child care hospital in the district which was the lifeline for the poor people, not only in the district, but also in neighbouring districts for almost eight decades downed its shutters officially on Monday.
From tomorrow, the hospital will be shifted to the Karnataka Government Koosamma Shambhu Shetty Haji Abdulla Memorial Mother and Child Care Hospital, constructed by the Bengaluru-based BRS Health and Research Institute of NRI businessman BR Shetty, just besides the old building.
After then President Pranab Mukherjee had inaugurated the hospital on November 19, 2017, the out-patient section was shifted to the new hospital building as per the agreement from last July. Almost half of the services of the government hospital were shifted then itself.
In a circular issued by the Commissioner of the Health and Family Welfare department on August 29, he directed the authorities to shift all the services including out-patient and in-patient divisions to the 200-bed multi-specialty hospital with immediate effect. With this, the Commissioner has directed to close the government Maternity and Child Care hospital permanently.
Known philanthropist of Udupi, Haji Abdulla had constructed the hospital in 1930s for the poor on a sprawling four acres of land. Later, the state government and the Health and Family Welfare department have agreed to give the land to the BRS Health and Research Institute Private Limited for 30 years lease. The BRS Health and Research Institute Private Limited has constructed 200 –bed hospital instead of 70-bed hospital on land behind the Mahatma Gandhi Government Primary School and named the hospital after ‘Karnataka Government Koosamma Shambhu Shetty Haji Abdulla Memorial Mother and Child Care Hospital’. The government has said that like in the previous hospital, all the services would be free in the new hospital also.
As per the agreement, the BRS Institute would demolish the existing Maternity and Child care Hospital and construct 400-bed capacity Centre Of Excellence Hospital (Super Specialty Hospital) and Community Health Facilities shortly.
Four docs hired
Total 31 staff including six specialist doctors were working in the previous Government Maternity and Child Care Hospital. Among them , the government has deputed four doctors including two pediatricians and two gynecologists to the new hospital on temporary basis. But he did not get any order for the remaining 27 staff including two doctors, said district surgeon Dr Madhusudhan Nayak.
As there was scarcity of doctors and staff, he had appealed the state government to depute all the staffs to the district hospital. Once again, he had written to the government seeking deputation of all the staff, he said.
Among in-patients, except the patients who will discharge in a couple of days, all the patients would be shifted to the new hospital, Dr Nayak said.
The government has asked him to send some of the equipment to the Vijayapura hospital and they would be sent. For remaining equipment, the decision would be taken as per the direction of the government, he said.
Though five maternity and gynecologists were appointed in the new hospital, two government doctors were deputed as the hospital may require them during emergency situation. As the new hospital did not get eligible pediatricians, two doctors were deputed from the old hospital, he said.
Scholar G Rajashekar said that the government benefit was the right of the people. But the service to be provided by the private would become a donation. The poor people have been getting the benefits as their rights and now onwards such facilities would not continue in the new hospital. It might affect the poor patients, he said.
4.64 lakh patients got treatment in last three years
Though the hospital has been serving in the centre of the city for the last eight decades, in the last three years, the hospital has treated 4, 64,176 poor patients. Among them, 4, 32, 756 patients were given treatment as out-patients and 31,420 got treatment as in-patients.
During 2016-17, total 1, 67, 203 out-patients and 11,925 in-patients, 1,79,761 out-patents and 13, 708 in-patients in 2017-18 and till August 2018-19, 85,792 out-patients and 5787 in-patients have got the treatment in the hospital.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
