Kalam To Meet Children
Children who underwent free heart surgery under a special scheme will meet former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in the K.G. Campus at Saravanampatti here on August 13. This has been organised by the K.G. group to mark the centenary celebrations of K. Govindaswamy Naidu Medical Trust. As many as 450 children from Tiruvarur, Theni, Namakkal, Karur, Erode, Tirupur and Coimbatore districts underwent free open heart surgeries to correct congenital defects. These were performed under the Ilam Sirar Irudaya Paadukappu Thittam of the State Government and as part of the initiative of The Little Heart Foundation of the trust to help young children with problems in the heart. A press release from K.G. Hospital Chairman G. Bakthavathsalam said Mr.Kalam inaugurated the foundation on May 1, 2008 and made an initial philanthropic contribution of Rs.1 lakh. This and the State Government’s scheme came to the aid of these children. All the 450 patients referred by the Government under this scheme were operated at K.G. Hospital in a year. Had they not been operated upon early, the children could have died of inter-current infection or cardiac failure. The State Government gave a grant of Rs.50,000 for a child.
The release claimed that K.G. Hospital and K. Govindaswamy Naidu Medical Trust spent about Rs.3.5 crore towards the cost of free cardiac surgeries. Mr.Kalam would also inaugurate at this function a Solar Thermal Power Research and Development Centre of K.G. Group at Coimbatore. The release said that the K.G. Group had developed indigenous technology in the area of solar power. The group planned to set up a 1 MW solar power station at Manamadurai in Sivaganga District. It also planned to take part in a 10 MW solar thermal power station project in Gujarat and a 100 MW solar thermal plant project at Udangudi near Thuthukudi.
