Congress flays BJD, BJP over medical college
BHUBANESWAR:Criticising the BJD and BJP for trying to take credit for setting up the Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital at Balangir, president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik said it was the UPA Government at the Centre which had announced the decision to establish four more medical colleges in Odisha.
Patnaik said the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) had decided to set up three medical colleges at Balangir, Rourkela and Jaring in Kalahandi district which did not materialise. The State Government’s decision to set up such colleges in these places on PPP mode also failed. Later, the Centre announced proposal to open three medical colleges at Balangir, Koraput and Balasore. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also announced the setting up of another medical college at Baripada after demand from locals, he said.
Besides announcing these four medical colleges for Odisha, the then Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, while inaugurating the All Indian Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, had said Berhampur and Burla medical college hospitals will be made into super speciality hospitals. But now, BJD and BJP are trying to take credit for Balangir medical college by inaugurating the building, the OPCC chief said.
Criticising the State Government for failing to provide minimum healthcare to people, Patnaik said steps should be taken to correct the situation.