Hazaribagh, Aug. 29: Now, people of Barhi, around 38km from Hazaribagh town, have come forward to stake their claim on the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

While the state government has apparently zeroed in on Deoghar for the ambitious healthcare facility, members of the AIIMS Lao Abhiyan Samiti recently handed over a memorandum to Union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha, suggesting Barhi as the site for the proposed institution.

Javed Islam, the convener of the samitiAlso, water will not be a problem as the area gets regular supply from Tilaiya Dam.. We will keep raising this issue to draw the attention of the government," Javed said.

Chief minister Das is apparently in favour of Deoghar as the proposed site for its strategic importance. Deoghar has good rail and road connectivity and an airport is likely to come there soon. It is almost equidistant from Patna and Ranchi and would cater to the needs of poor tribals in the Santhal Pargana region.

But, like Barhi people, the medical fraternity of Jharkhand is also opposed to setting up of AIIMS in Deoghar. They are insisting that the location of the speciality heal hub should be in Ranchi which is far better connected by rail, road and air.

The new AIIMS-like institutions, first proposed in 2003 and approved in 2006, are being set up in a phased manner to remove regional disparities in healthcare facilities. Some of these, such as AIIMS-Patna, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar and AIIMS-Bhopal, are already functioning.