The best days are behind the Fish Canteen

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Travel

 

Serving of nostalgia: The Fish Canteen in Cubbon Park, run by the Karnataka Fisheries’ Development Corporation, was once the only place in Bangalore where one was guaranteed fresh fish./ Photo: Karan Ananth / The Hindu
Serving of nostalgia: The Fish Canteen in Cubbon Park, run by the Karnataka Fisheries’ Development Corporation, was once the only place in Bangalore where one was guaranteed fresh fish./ Photo: Karan Ananth / The Hindu

Cubbon Park has always meant different things to different people. To some, it is a colonial relic, to others a botanical treasure trove. A lovers’ glade to some and joggers’ park to others.

Through the late 1980s and 1990s, Cubbon Park was also the go-to place for fish lovers of the city, thanks to the Fish Canteen run by the Karnataka Fisheries’ Development Corporation.

Those were the days when the Fish Canteen was the only place in Bangalore where one was guaranteed fresh fish, raw or cooked. Mackerel and seer fish kebabs served with slices of salted bread and onion rings was a combination that was as popular as the fish thali.

The boom years of the late 1990s saw many restaurants sprout in the city, including those that served sea food. This period also saw a decline in the standards at the Fish Canteen.

Things continued to slide for over a decade with patrons at the canteen slowing down to a trickle. In 2010, the government finally gave the place a facelift, spending over Rs. 1 crore on turning it into a swanky restaurant from a basic canteen.

The menu though remained the same — fish kebabs (minus the bread) and thalis made up of ragi balls, rice, rasam, buttermilk and of course, fish curry.

Although the menu remained the same, there was a huge improvement in the quality for the first two years.

Standards have fallen again in the last year. The fish is often stale and rarely marinated. As a result, it seems like the fish and the curry were cooked separately and dunked together just before serving. The kebabs still have some sting left, though not half as good as what was served even 10 or 15 years ago.

Visit the Fish Canteen for the love of the place and the abundant fresh air, the prices aren’t bad either. But if you are have a desperate craving for fish, look yonder.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Sudipto Monday / April 11th, 2013

From Planet-X to Planet Bikes

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

He was the first to introduce Bowling to Mysoreans, the first to introduce them to Go-Karting, the first to introduce them to networked Video-Gaming and most importantly, every weekend Mysore danced to his tunes at the popular Hookah Bar. Then K. Panduranga Shenoy shut down Planet-X and disappeared. Many in Mysore were wondering what happened to this bold entrepreneur from the city. It turns out he’s been busy on an Italian Job. Panduranga Shenoy recently opened a Showroom of Italian Motorcycles, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi in Bangalore. SOM met up with the enterprising Shenoy to ask what he has been upto and why he shut down Planet-X.

Panduranga Shenoy is seen with Bollywood actor Sunny Leone at the launch of his motorcycle dealership for Italian bikes Aprilia and Moto Guzzi at Sheraton Hotel in Bangalore recently.
Panduranga Shenoy is seen with Bollywood actor Sunny Leone at the launch of his motorcycle dealership for Italian bikes Aprilia and Moto Guzzi at Sheraton Hotel in Bangalore recently.

SOM: So, where have you been over the past year, you seem to have disappeared from Mysore?

Shenoy: I did not disappear, I was just dealing with some issues and had trouble running Planet-X, so I finally shut down the place and took some time off. Now I have started this motorcycle dealership.

SOM: Why a motorcycle dealership, why not another Planet-X or a Hookah Bar?

Shenoy: I love motorcycles, always have. So when I got an opportunity to have the franchise for one of the best motorcycles in the world — Italy’s Aprilia and Moto Guzzi — I couldn’t help myself. Also, I am done trying to open themed parks or even clubs or discothèques in Mysore or Bangalore. It is not worth the trouble. It’s ironic that for a nation that loves to dance at the drop of a hat, every effort has been made by law to prevent it.

SOM: Now, many Mysoreans are disappointed that you shut down Planet-X and they want to know why and also if you will ever open it ?

Shenoy: I never wanted to shut down Planet-X, but I was harassed into closing it. I started off with a lot of enthusiasm. I wanted Mysoreans to look forward for a weekend or an evening of fun. But ever since I opened Planet-X, senior officials have harassed me. First, the bureaucracy, then the Police, after I got a Police officer trapped by Lokayukta. After ten years, I had so many enemies that they made sure I was in perennial trouble. Finally, I couldn’t take it any more and I shut the place down.

SOM: Why didn’t you go to the Hotel and Restaurant Owners’ Association and take their help?

Shenoy: Whom are we kidding? Every hotelier, restaurant owner and even a small-time bar owner in city survives on the mercy of officialdom. What could they do?

SOM: Are you saying the officialdom was vengeful?

Shenoy: Yes, I do. But it doesn’t matter anymore. For now, the bureaucracy and the Police many feel victorious that they shut me down. They may feel that they have sent a message to others, “Never take on us”. But in the bigger picture Mysore has lost.

So by forcing me to fail, the bureaucracy and Police have failed the city.

And it is funny they (officials) still vehemently talk about making Mysore a tourist city, when all their actions prove to the contrary.

SOM: Will you open Planet-X again?

Shenoy: No. I won’t try any business in Mysore.

In Mysore, any new business which is slightly big becomes a target. I ended up being a big fish in a small city and I got harpooned, whereas here in Bangalore, I am a small fish, so I go unnoticed.

SOM: So you are a Bangalorean now?

Shenoy: Never. I love Mysore. It is my city. That is why I invested so much in Mysore. I will always be a Mysorean. I just refuse to start any business there, that’s all.

SOM: Guess you’re done entertaining Mysoreans then?

Shenoy: I would love to entertain Mysoreans, but now they will have to come to Bangalore. See, today I have invited all my friends from Mysore and I’ll make sure they have a good time.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / September 26th, 2013

Manipal Hospitals may invest around $240M to more than treble bed capacity in three years

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The company recently acquired a 72-bed hospital in Malaysia.

Bangalore-based Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd, the third-largest hospital chain in India, is planning to invest up to Rs 1,500 crore (around $240 million) to have a capacity to operate up to 5,000 hospital beds, top executive of the company told VCCircle.

ManipalBF30oct2013

“We plan to have total capacity of around 5,000 hospital beds, existing and potential, in India and abroad by 2015-16. When I say potential, it means that in some of our investments we start off with say a 200-bed capacity but have the option to increase it to say 300 beds. Of this, around 3,500-4,000 beds will be in India and 1,000-1,500 beds will be outside India,” said Rajen Padukone, MD & CEO of Manipal Health Enterprises.

These extra beds mean the company could add 7-12 more hospitals in its network. At present the company has 10 hospitals with 1,600 operating hospital beds under its network which include academy cum hospitals as well as corporate hospitals.

“The total investment for our three-year expansion is around Rs 1,500 crore but it’s a bit up in the air and could change depending on the kind of models we look at besides acquisitions. For example, there are a number of developers who are looking to invest with us and in such a scenario up to 40 per cent investment could come from them,” he said.

Further, the expansion of the company would be through brownfield, greenfield and acquisition routes. Padukone said overseas, the company could focus more on acquisitions.

Manipal recently acquired a 72-bed hospital in Malaysia.

“The acquisition was finalised a couple of months ago. It is a secondary level hospital in Kuala Lumpur. As part of the deal, we have space to raise capacity at the existing location and eventually shift the business from 72-beds to a 200-bed hospital. The new hospital would be a multispecialty secondary and tertiary facility,” Padukone said.

He said the company is looking to have a capacity of 400-500 beds in Malaysia which includes setting up a hospital in Malacca and one or two more in Kuala Lumpur in three years.

Apart from Malaysia, Manipal is exploring opportunities to launch and acquire hospitals in the Middle East and Africa.

“In South Africa, we are looking at both education and hospital opportunities. In three years we are looking at a capacity of 1,000 hospital beds,” he said.

Padukone explained that the company will expand in three buckets. The first bucket would include increasing capacity in current hospitals; the second bucket includes increasing more hospitals in cities it is present in and the third includes being in contiguous states where it already has presence.

“In our existing hospitals, we feel we could add capacity by 600 more beds. For example, in Manipal hospital in Goa we have added 200 beds and also added 150 beds in various existing hospitals in Bangalore. We will strengthen our presence in cities we are already present; so two more hospitals are coming up in Bangalore. And we will expand in contiguous states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. We will also look at cities where we have an educational presence like Jaipur in Rajasthan,” Padukone said.

The company has raised and has access to about $200 million from three private equity players that invested in it, including IDFC Alternatives, Kotak Private Equity and India Value Fund.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

source: http://www.vccircle.com / VC Circle / Home> Other / by Lohit Jagwani / Friday – September 27th, 2013

City’s Vignesh wins double crown

Records, All, Sports

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Mysore :

City’s upcoming tennis player Vignesh Subramaniam who took part in the TTC-AITA Junior Tennis tourney held at TTC courts in Trivandrum on Saturday won the boys under-18 singles and also the boys under-16 singles titles and completed a fine double.

In the boys under-18 singles final, second seeded Vignesh shocked top-seed Jeffy Jacob of Kerala 6-4, 7-5 and clinched the title. In the semi-finals, Vignesh bt K.S. Chiranthan of Karnataka 6-0, 6-2.

In the boys under-16 singles final, Vignesh bt beat N. Manaz of Tamil Nadu 6-0, 6-1 and clinched the title.

Results

Finals: Boys under-18: S. Vignesh bt Jeffy Jacob [6-4, 7-5].

Finals: Boys under-16: S Vignesh bt N Manaz [6-0, 6-1].

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / September 23rd, 2013

Cycling away to glory….

Records, All, Sports, Uncategorized

SahanaBF29sept2013

When young, least did she know she would one day do something adventurous. Neither did she do something of the sort until she started her career. But unlike many with a dream of doing something adventurous since childhood, she suddenly developed a liking for cycling just less than a couple of years ago. And today, this young Mysorean has succeeded in cycling upto Leh in Jammu & Kashmir from Manali in Himachal Pradesh in a span of 14 days.

Sahana Murthy, 24, a Mysorean based at Bangalore, is a young and enthusiastic adventure cyclist. For this girl, it was a sudden instinct that made her develop a liking to cycle which makes her story special. And such is the love for her passion that she not just wanted to go on a long and challenging cycling expedition but even succeeded in doing so by cycling 600 km from Manali to Leh and from there to Khardung-La — the world’s highest motorable Pass.

Come, let’s learn of her experience:

“It was once in a life-time experience. I along with three other friends — Krishna Vasudeva Rao from Mysore, Kamakshi Sahai and Rajeev Agarwal — started cycling from Manali and would cycle upto 40-50 km in a span of 8 hrs per day,” says Sahana, daughter of city-based scientist Vindhya Murthy and businessman Raghavendra Murthy.

Sahana works as an Operations Associate at Genpact, Bangalore. Talking of the expedition, she said, “it was a major challenge altogether, especially for a person like me for whom everything associated with it was a first time experience.”

On a cycle with a load of 20 kilos that included everything from their camping tents to food and clothing, it was a taxing task, she says. “The very first day we started cycling, it began to rain and continued for three days. Our clothes were wet yet we had to continue cycling as we hadn’t carried many clothes to avoid extra load. But we weren’t deterred by it. Three days later, the weather turned sunny so much so that it then became difficult to bear the heat. A few hours after we started cycling, the skin started peeling off and the combination of the cold went and scorching sun was literally killing us. Yet we continued. By the end of the day, we would halt in tent-like restaurants where we would get some food, rest by night and start by 8 am the next morning post breakfast.”

Each day, each step was a challenge, she recalls. “We had to motivate ourselves every minute as it was emotionally, physically and mentally very demanding. We had to cycle upon a vehicle with heavy load, pass by steep uphills, eat only dryfruits, biscuits and chocolates as we could find no food anywhere until we reached a certain destination by dusk and even remained with no shower for 13 days.

Especially for girls, the expedition was tough, she says adding “The tents we would halt at would be shared by many people and mostly guys which would make me and my friend Kamakshi insecure at times. But the day I reached Khardung-La, I was the happiest.”

But it is because of her parents support and backing from her friends and office that she could manage to achieve her goal, she says. It was no easy thing for my parents to let me go on such an expedition. However, they trusted me and did not come in my way of my happiness because of which I have done this today, says Sahana and adds: “I will be soon learning paragliding and mountaineering too and go on cycle expeditions as well. Being a girl, it was not at all easy to strain myself the way I did, get tanned so horribly that my skin almost looked charred. I came back with loads of knee pain, back ache and sores in the leg. Yet, when people complimented me for having reached the world’s highest motorable Pass on cycle, all else would fly off my mind, making me feel proud of my achievements.” —AN

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / September 23rd, 2013

Mysore athletes bag top honours – District-level Dasara Games

Records, All, Sports

District-level Dasara Games

( Top ) Shahejahani ( Below ) Reena George
( Top ) Shahejahani
( Below ) Reena George

Mysore :

Mysore District athletes bagged top honours in the District-level Dasara Games 2013, both in men and women’s section, held at the University Oval athletic grounds here yesterday.

M.G. Radesh, a final year BBM student at Basudeva Somani FGC, Mysore and Reena George, both from Mysore District, bagged top honours in the men’s and women’s section respectively.

In the women’s section, Shahejahani of Mysore won gold in the Discus and Javelin throw events and also secured silver in Shot-put event. In men’s section, M.R. Nandeesh of Mysore won gold in Javelin and Discus throw and also won silver in the Shot-put event. V.G. Ponnappa of Mysore won gold in the men’s 800m and 1500m events.

Men’s section results: 100m: 1. M.G. Radesh (Mysore), 2. K.P. Sumanth (Mysore), 3. J. Mahendra (K.R. Nagar);  200m: 1. M. Radesh (Mysore), 2. Suhas S. Gowda (Mysore), 3. Manu (Hunsur); 400m: 1. Arun Kumar (Hunsur), 2. V. Chethan (Mys), 3. Bipin Thomas (Mys);  800m: 1. V.G. Ponnappa (Mys), 2. Rohit Kumar (Mys), 3. P. Abhishek (K.R. Nagar);  1500m: 1. V.G. Ponnappa (Mys), 2. R. Shashikumar (Mys), 3. S.D. Venkatesh (H.D. Kote); 5000m:  1. B.J. Prasanna (Hunsur), 2. R. Ranjith (Hunsur), 3. Arun (K.R. Nagar); Javelin throw:  1. M.R. Nandeesh (Mys), 2. K.B. Harsha (Mys), 3. Naveen (Mys); Discus throw: 1. M.R. Nandeesh (Mys), 2. K.B. Harsha (Mys), 3. L. Madhu Gowda (Mys); Shot-put: 1. M.R. Mohan Kumar (Mys); 2. M.R. Nandeesh (Mys), 3. N.V. Chandan (Mys); Long jump: 1. T.S. Ravi (Mys), 2. Mohith (Mys), 3. R. Rakesh (Hunsur); 4x400m Relay: 1. Hunsur, 2. Mysore, 3. Nanjangud; 4x100m Relay: 1. Mys, 2. Hunsur, 3. K.R. Nagar; Throwball: 1. Mysore, 2. Nanjangud; Kho-kho: 1. Mysore, 2. Nanjangud; Kabaddi: 1. Mysore, 2. H.D. Kote; Basketball: 1. Rising Star, Mysore; 2. Aryans, Mysore; Football: 1. Hunsur; 2. Mysore; Ball badminton: 1. K.R. Nagar, 2. Mysore; Shuttle badminton: Darshan/Sachin (Mys); Hockey: 1. Mysore ‘A’, 2. St. Philomena’s College.

Women’s results — 100m: 1. Reena George (Mys), 2. S.G. Priyanka (Mys), 3. S.R. Preethi (Mys); 200m: 1. Reena George (Mys), 2. Inchara (Mys), 3. Anusha (K.R. Nagar); 400m: 1. Reena George (Mys), 2. H.R. Navami (Mys), 3. H.Y. Anjali (Hunsur);  800m: 1. Poornima (Mys), 2. V. Priyanka ( Mys), 3. Sushma (T.N. Pura); 1500m: 1. Shraddha Rani S. Desai (Mys), 2. V. Priyanka (Mys), 3. K.R. Tejaswini (T.N. Pura); 3000m: 1. Thippavva Sannakki (Mys), 2. Shraddha Rani S. Desai (Mys), 3. B. Chaitra (T.N. Pura); Triple jump: 1. P. Harshitha (K.R. Nagar), 2. S.S. Vasudha (Mys), 3. S. Vinutha (Mys); Javelin throw: 1. Shahejahani (Mys), 2. Harshitha (K.R. Nagar), 3. S.G. Pushpa (Mys); Shot-put: 1. P.S Uma (Mys), 2. Shahejahani (Mys), 3. K. Roopashree (Mys);  Discus throw: 1. Shahejahani (Mys), 2. P.S. Uma (Mys), 3. K.P. Maheshwari (Mys); Long jump: 1. P. Harshitha (K.R. Nagar), 2. P.B. Sumithra (Mys), 3. S.S. Vasudha (Mys); 4x400m Relay: 1. Mysore, 2. Hunsur, 3. T.N. Pura; 4x100m Relay: 1. Mysore, 2. Hunsur, 3. T.N. Pura;

Ball-badminton: 1. Hunsur, 2. K.R. Nagar; Throwball: 1. Mysore, 2. Nanjangud; Volleyball: Mysore; Kabaddi: 1. Mysore, 2. Hunsur; Kho-Kho: 1. T.N. Pura, 2. Mysore;  Hockey: 1. Mysore, 2. Teresian College;  Basketball: Mysore.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / September 22nd, 2013

Star this week : Talented athlete : Thippawa Sannakki

Sports

ThippawaBF28sept2013

Mysore :

Athletics is considered as the Mother of all sports. Our city athlete Thippavva Sannakki is a talented athlete who excels in the long distance running events, and has been performing consistently well in the National, State level meets. Thippavva Sannakki, recently taking part in the Mysore District-level Dasara athletic meet 2013-14, on Saturday won gold in women’s 3000m event. She also represented Indian Railways in the National athletic meet held at Ranchi recently and performed well. She is our “Star This Week.”

Thippavva Sannakki is an employee with the South Western Railways, Mysore. She is presently training under the guidance of former International and SAK athletic coach Damodar Gowda at Mysore.

Thippavva Sannaki, taking part in the District-level Dasara women’s athletics event in the 3000m won the gold with a timing of 11m:23:09s.

Thippavva will represent Mysore District in the Division-level Dasara athletic meet to be held on Sept. 30th & Oct. 1 at Mysore.

Thippavva, last fortnight, represented Indian Railways in the Indian Open Nationals and took part in the 3000m event. She finished sixth in the event and gained valuable experience competing with Indian athletes Preeja Sreedharan and Sreeja.

Thippavva Sannakki has represented Karnataka in the National level and has won medals in the in the senior as well in the junior level. Thippavva has been a regular medal winner in the long distance events in the State-level Dasara meets every year. She has taken part in the DAC road races for women and has been the winner for four years in a row. An All-India Inter-University medalist representing Mysore University, this girl has the talent in her to improve on her performance in the National level.

She is a talented athlete and with her dedicated hard work aims to perform well in the National level in the days to come.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / September 22nd, 2013

Vijay Mallya: McLaren still catchable

Leaders, Sports, World Opinion
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya

Force India Team Principal Vijay Mallya believes that beating McLaren for 5th place in the Constructor’s Championship is still possible.

Force India, who are currently five points behind the McLaren team, were leading the championship race up until the German Grand Prix  in July.

Force India excelled with their performances and consistently scored points while Mclaren had a disastrous start to their 2013 season.  But for the last 4 races, Force India scored only 2 points whereas McLaren stepped up their performance to score 29 points.

Mallya believes his team will do well in the upcoming races.

He said: “It is going to be a close fight, but the good news is that McLaren still aren’t that far ahead. “They only scored one point in Monza, so they are definitely catchable. We need to perform better ourselves, that’s very clear.

“We’re working hard to find more performance, but at the same time we’ve made it quite clear that we will not compromise next year’s programme. It’s always a balancing act, but we know what we need to do.

“Absolutely, we’ve been strong in Singapore, especially last year. Hopefully that will continue this year, but we know we’ve got to get on top of the tyres to unleash the potential of the car. Points must be the target for this weekend to keep up our momentum in the championship fight.”

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / Home> F1/ Singapore GP / by Prathik / September 16th, 2013

K-LOUNGE gets style to Shimoga

Business & Economy

K-LOUNGE, fashion retail chain promoted by India’s premiere fashion house, Kewal Kiran Clothing Ltd opened its first K- LOUNGE store in Shimoga, Karnataka.

The company boasts of revolutionising fashion in India through their five brands Killer, Easies, Lawmanpg3, Integriti and Addictions. All these brands have attained a cult status and are exclusively available through the K- LOUNGE fashion chain.

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Hemantbhai, Director, K – LOUNGE, said: “Any customer who walks in to K- LOUNGE is guaranteed to experience world-class ambience, variety in designs, colours, cuts, materials and of course price.”

K- LOUNGE stores are elegantly designed for an international shopping experience. Their customer-friendly approach and impeccable service has not only increased footfalls of customers, but also of prospective franchisees queuing up. K- LOUNGE has presence in over 100 cities across India.

Incepted in 1981, and headquarted in Mumbai, Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited is amongst the few large branded apparel manufacturers in India. The company has consumers in Asia, Middle East and CIS. The company designs, manufactures and markets branded jeans and a wide range of apparel products for men and women.

source: http://www.news.franchiseindia.com / Franchise India / Home> News / September 16th, 2013

JSS Hospital: In service to Life

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

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Mysore :

by  S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

It was in 1974 that the JSS Mahavidyapeetha started a primary health centre on Ramanuja Road in city. In 1984, JSS Medical College was started and the primary health centre was upgraded into a 60-bed hospital for fulfilling the requirement of a teaching hospital. Later, it was upgraded to 1,200-bed specialty hospital. It has been almost 4 decades since JSS Mahavidyapeetha has been catering to the health needs of people in and around Mysore.

Now, on the auspicious occasion of 98th birth anniversary celebrations of Jagadguru Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Mahaswamji, the JSS Mahavidyapeetha is all set to open its new JSS Multi-Specialty Hospital for public service to add to the quality of medical facilities.

Prez to dedicate JSS Multi-Specialty Hospital

Having proved its commitment to the society through educational institutions and philanthropic works, Sri Jagadguru Sri Shivathreeshwara Mahadvidyapeetha (JSSMVP) is now coming out with a Multi-Specialty Hospital adding to the already existing one on Ramanuja Road in city.

The Mahavidyapeetha has been providing educational opportunities to all sections of society without discrimination on caste, creed and religion. The best example is the JSS Free School at Suttur which caters to nearly 4000 students from all communities providing them free schooling and hostel facilities. The Mahavidyapeetha has become a household name in Mysore and surrounding districts. Students from Mysore, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts have been benefitted largely by the educational institutions run by JSS Mahavidyapeetha. It has been 6 decades since its inception and JSS has never compromised on quality of education and philanthropic works.

It was in 1954 Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Mahaswamiji, the 23rd pontiff of Jagadguru Veerasimhasana Peetha at Suttur, decided to establish JSS Mahavidyapeetha to cater to the educational needs of the rural populace. This was followed by establishment of hostel for students, which offered free food and basic facilities which is in practice even today. Many students of JSS Mahavidyapeetha, who are today at the helm of affairs in various departments, do not forget to remember the Mutt which provided them free schooling.

JSS Mahavidyapeetha, which took its first step in the field of education with the starting of a high school, has now forayed into Crèches, Primary schools, High schools, Pre-University, Degree, Law, Engineering, Medicine, Dental Sciences and Pharmacy Colleges thus catering to all classes of society. Considering the quality of education and facilities, JSS was awarded the Deemed University ststus. The Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Colleges in Mysore and Ooty were brought under its control in 2008.

Now, a young child who joins JSS institution seeking education can go to become a technical expert, an engineer, a technologist, a doctor or a philosopher from the same institution. JSS Mahavidyapeetha has all the facilities that shape youngsters into a good citizen of the country. After Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Mahaswamiji, the administration of the Suttur Mutt was taken over by Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji under whose guidance the JSS Mahavidyapeetha became a massive educational organisation offering variety of courses.

Currently, there are around 70,000 students pursuing education in 350 institutions run by JSS Mahavidyapeetha at various parts of the country and abroad.

Besides education, the Mahavidyapeetha has also forayed into several social works to spread the knowledge of spirituality and also help those in need. The JSSMVP has been successfully running institutions such as:

JSS Jan Shikshana Samsthan, JSS Krishni Vignana Kendra, JSS Old Age Homes, JSS Literary and Cultural Centres and JSS Publications.

Speaking about the healthcare facilities provided by the JSS Mahavidyapeetha, currently the JSS Hospital on Ramanuja Road has been providing quality healthcare to people of Mysore and surrounding districts.

It was in 1974 that JSS Mahavidyapeetha established a primary health centre in Mysore under the aegis of JSS Medical Services Trust to address the needs of the poor. Yet another health centre was established at SJCE premises in 1982. Though initially the existing JSS Hospital was not constructed for the hospital purpose, it was later converted into a 60-bed hospital and later was converted into 1,600 bed hospital in 1986 on a sprawling 2.40 lakh sqft area. The existing hospital has 16 state-of-the-art Operation Theatres and intensive care units for cardiac, respiratory, medical, surgical and dialysis patients. It also has neonatal and emergency wards. With the dedicated doctors and hospital staff, the hospital has been providing quality healthcare facilities at affordable prices.

Apart from implementing the Government programmes, the JSS Mahavidyapeetha has also been providing free treatment for those who are unable to bear the expenses of medical treatment. Currently, the hospital treats around 1,000 patients in the out-patient department everyday. Apart from the JSS Medical College, the hospital provides exposure to students of JSS Nursing College, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS College of Speech and Hearing and JSS College of Physiotherapy. JSS Mahavidyapeetha also plans to establish a 100-bed hospital in Chamarajanagar.

The New Super Specialty JSS Hospital

Though the existing JSS Hospital has been upgraded to 1600-bed with 35 specialties and super specialties, the vision of Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji was to build another hospital to cater to more people. With continued efforts and perseverance of the Mahaswamiji, the new JSS Hospital is soon to become a reality.

It was in 2009 that the JSS Medical Service Trust decided to come up with another hospital. After a wait for four years, the works on the hospital have been completed, except for minor works.

The hospital will provide specialty and super specialty health care in the areas of Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Urology, Oncology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, Neonatology, Nephrology and other specialties. The hospital will also take up Cardiothoracic surgeries in future as there are three Modular Operation Theatres which enables the hospital to take up any complicated operations.

The new hospital has been constructed on an area of 12.5 acres with two basements, ground floor and four top floors on MG Road adjacent to the existing JSS Hospital at an estimated cost of Rs. 300 crore. The 1,800-bed hospital consists of general wards, special wards and critical care beds. The Radiology Department has been equipped with Telsa Digital MRI Machine, 128 Slice CT Scanner and Advanced Ultrasound and Echo Cardiograph Machines. Each floor of the hospital has been provided with 9 lifts to facilitate easy movement of patients, public and staff. Provision has also been made for a helipad as well.

JSS Medical Trust has given priority to appoint qualified and committed medical and para medical staff. Currently, the hospital has 65 Professors, 38 Associated Professors, 48 Assistant Professors, 48 Lecturers from various specialties. It also has 1030 Para-medical staff and nurses, who have been working hand-in-hand to provide best of the treatment to the patients.

The new JSS Hospital will definitely be a boon for the Medical students as they would get a hands-on experience with the latest technologies in the field of medical science.

The new Hospital will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on Sept. 23 at 3 pm in the gracious presence of Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji. Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj will preside. Chief Minister Siddharamaiah will release ‘Prasada’ special issue of JSS Mahavidyapeetha and Union Minister Oscar Fernandes will release special issue of JSS Monthly Newsletter.

The facilities available at the New Hospital

1. 1800-bed with general and special wards

2. State-of- the-art critical care beds (ICU/ICCU/PICU/NICU/RICU/CTVS ICU/SICU)

3. 24×7 accident and emergency services

4. 28 Major Operation Theatres

5. 3 Modular Operation Theatres

6. MRI (3 Tesla)

7. CT scanner (128 Slice)

8. Advanced flat panel cardiac Cath lab and advanced noninvasive cardiology services

9. State-of-the-art Blood Bank

10. Burns and Trauma Centre

11. Physiotherapy, Artificial Limb Centre, Eye Bank and Comprehensive Rehabilitation Centre

12. ICTC and ART Centres

13. Recognised Hospital for Central & State sponsored insurance schemes (Yeshaswini, Vajpayee Arogyashri, ESI etc)

14. 24X7 advanced Dialysis services

15. 24X7 Drug Centre

16. 24X7 Hi-tech Ambulance Services

17. Superspeciality services: Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Pulmono-logy, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, Pae-diatric Surgery, Urology, Rheumatology, Haema-tology, Keyhole laparascopic Surgery, Surgical Gastroenterology, Neonatology and other diagnostic and clinical facilities with latest equipments.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / September 21st, 2013