BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday praised the people of Odisha and the state administration for saving over 1,000 lives in the tragic mishap at Bahanaga in Balasore district.
“I am proud of my people. I am proud of Odisha,” he said in his address at a ‘Nijukti Parva’ at Kalinga stadium where 1,205 medical officers were handed over appointment letters. The chief minister said everyone is aware of the train tragedy in Balasore that shook the nation even the world. It is a time of immense grief and sorrow. But the accident has proved the strength of Odisha and its ability to rise up to expectation during time of crisis, he said.
“This unfortunate incident brought to the fore the compassion and humanity of the people of Odisha. Doctors, medical students, volunteers and local people, all had one thing in mind. Let’s save as many lives as we can. And we have saved more than 1,000 lives. People providing support to the rescue operation and the long queues for blood donation are rare sights but invaluable,” he said with immense pride.
“Transparency, technology, teamwork, time and transformation, all were on absolute display. We have succeeded in cyclone management with a long-term strategy, Covid management with a medium-term strategy, and now we have proved we are equally capable in managing such sudden crisis requiring instant action,” he said while summing up his transformative governance.
Congratulating the new medical officers, he said it is a huge addition at one go to the existing strength of doctors in the state. “We have appointed around 4,500 medical officers in the last four years and an additional 5,000 posts have been created recently. All MBBS vacancies in the state will be filled up by the end of December. Odisha will be a doctor-surplus state from next year onwards,” Naveen added.