Other States - Orissa

Upgradation of MKCG Medical College demanded

BERHAMPUR: The Rashtriya Oriya Yuvak Pratisthan (ROYP) has demanded the Central and State governments to initiate process so that the MKCG Medical College could be upgraded under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakshya Yojana (PMSSY).

President of the ROYP Srikant Padhi said they had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister from Orissa Chandrasekhar Sahu and Union Health Minister Ambumani Ramdas about the matter. The organisation plans to create public opinion in south Orissa to press upon the demand.

The PMSSY was approved in March 2006 to correct imbalances in availability of affordable high-level health care and to augment facilities for quality medical education. Under it six institutions similar to the AIIMS are to be established in Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal. Each medical institute like the one to be established in Bhubaneswar would have an 850 bedded hospital to provide health care in specialty and super specialty disciplines.

Apart from it the PMSSY also plans to upgrade 13 existing medical colleges as premier institutions of health care. For it Rs.120 crore would be spent on each institute out of which Rs. 100 crore would be borne by the Centre while the rest would be spent by the State government. Mr Padhi said some of the states like Utatr Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh would have two of their medical institutes upgraded under the scheme. The organisation felt the MKCG Medical College which happens to be the only referral medical centre in south Orissa which comprises areas of KBK districts should be included in the scheme.

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