Pawan kalyan asks what is point of changing name of varsity

Mangalagiri: The current government is needed to give a reasonable clarification of what exactly they wanted to achieve by changing the name of NTR University of Health Sciences, Jana Sena supremo Pawan Kalyan demanded here on Wednesday.

He wondered in a statement here whether it will improve the health facilities in the university and the state, if the name is changed to YSR instead of NTR.

Expressing concern over the prevailing poor medical facilities which are not up to the standard in the state, he said that there are not enough beds and staff in any government-run hospital across the state. "There are no medicines. It is still the fresh memory of people the harassment meted out to Dr Sudhakar who died after humiliation just for asking for masks during the Covid."

He asserted that there is no meaning in changing the name of the university ignoring improvement of the basic amenities. "It appears that it is an attempt by the YSRCP government to divert the attention of people or create new disputes," he said. There is nothing beneficial to people if the rulers started changing the names whenever there was a change of the guard, he opined.

If they want to change the name, they can change the name of King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam. Its name still smells of British culture. 'Anyway, we are celebrating Independence Amrit Mahotsav, the name of Visakha KGH could be changed after any one of the medical experts," he said.

Jana Sena chief wondered whether the powers-that-be even know the name of the late Yellapragada Subbarao, who is one of the world's top medical experts. The name of Yellapragada Subbarao could be considered if they have thought with a commitment to rename the health university with experts in the sector. "He was a great scientist and invented medicines for diseases like Filariasis and typhoid. Before renaming the institutions with the names of their family members, the rulers should know the great personalities of those who had sacrificed their lives for the people," he said.