Karnataka Chief Minister visits cancer patients at Kidwai institute on Children's Day

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar visited young cancer patients at the State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru on Saturday. During his visit to the Kapoor Children's Ward for Children's Day, he spoke with patients, asked about their hometowns, and gave out chocolates and drawing books. He comforted a boy named Parthasarathy, who has blood cancer and is from Hosur, by telling him he was like Arjuna and would be fine. He also spoke with Pooja from Humnabad, who told him she wants to be a teacher. Other children he met included two-year-old Jayalakshmi, her mother Anitha from Kalaburagi, and Lekhana from Raichur who shared that she will turn 10 in December.

Official Actions

In the general ward, Mr. Shivakumar listened to the mother of Rithvik from Kanakapura, whose family ration card was changed from BPL to APL, and directed officials to restore its BPL status. He asked mothers if the hospital gave good facilities and if anyone asked them for money. Speaking to reporters later, the Chief Minister shared that around 3.5 lakh patients visit Kidwai every year, averaging 1,000 patients a day, including people from West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. He noted the government has directed the institute to add 200 beds, and will look into a request for three acres of land to build rooms for caregivers. A recent Cabinet meeting also approved buying a new robotic surgical system and other equipment for the hospital.

Context

Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology is a major public cancer treatment center in Bengaluru that serves patients from across Karnataka and neighboring states. Expanding cancer care facilities to more districts helps reduce the travel burden on patients and their families.