BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday laid the foundation stone for two advanced cancer care centres in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of Rath Yatra.
The Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre and Bagchi-Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre will come up at Info Valley in the city.
Odisha Skill Development Authority Chairman and entrepreneur Subrato Bagchi and wife Susmita Bagchi have pledged Rs 340 crore, including Rs 210 crore for the cancer hospital and Rs 130 crore for the palliative care centre.
While Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation will run a 750-bed cancer hospital and research centre, Bengaluru-based Hospice Trust Karunashraya Foundation will run the palliative care unit, which will have 110 beds and provide free service. Once set up, the facilities will help Bhubaneswar to become a leading centre of cancer care and palliative services in the country.
The Chief Minister said both the global standard cancer-care institutions will help patients, especially the poor in accessing quality health care. He assured that the State government will provide all support for the early completion of the projects to serve people. “I am sure the cancer hospital will become a leading research institution and attract oncologists from across the world to serve humanity,” he hoped.
Appreciating the efforts of Kishore Rao and Gurmeet Randhawa, founders of Bengaluru Hospice Trust, Naveen said, state-of-the-art palliative care would be completely free of cost in the State due to the institution that has been serving the needs of cancer patients for over last 25 years through their Karunashraya.
The CM congratulated the Bagchi couple for their philanthropy and noble efforts to create two world-class institutions in the State. Their philanthropy is an inspiration for Odisha and the people will remember them for their contribution, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Mindtree co-founder Bagchi said the facilities will redefine cancer care, cure, training and research in the eastern region of the country. Starting from the cabinet approval for the facilities to land allotment and the foundation stone, everything has happened at a lightning speed, he said.
Dr Srinath of Shankar Cancer Foundation expressed his gratitude to the Bagchi family for their noble initiative. He said that the hospital will be a one-stop cancer centre with all the treatment facilities including bone marrow transplantation. The hospital will have a postgraduate training centre on oncology, he added.
Dr Randhawa said the palliative centre in Bhubaneswar will be developed as the best palliative care facility in the world. The institute, with a green campus, will impart training to over 25,000 youth, including tribal girls, as healthcare assistants, in the next five years and create a big pool of caregivers, he said.