Bagchi cancer care facilities to be ready by 2024
BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday laid the foundation stone for two advanced cancer care centres, the Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre and Bagchi-Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre here. The state-of-the-art comprehensive cancer care facilities will come up at Info Valley II and expected to become operational by 2024.
Odisha Skill Development Authority Chairman and entrepreneur Subroto Bagchi and his 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 the 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. The facilities will mark a new era in oncology services in Odisha and make Bhubaneswar a leading centre of cancer and palliative care 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 Singh Randhawa, founders of Bangalore 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 Chief Minister 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 B S Srinath of Shankara Cancer Foundation expressed his gratitude to the Bagchi family for their noble initiative. He said that the hospital will be an one-stop cancer centre with all the treatment facilities. The hospital will have a postgraduate training centre on oncology, he added.
Randhawa said the palliative centre in Bhubaneswar will be developed as the best facility in the world. The institute having a green campus will impart training to over 25,000 youth, including tribal girls as healthcare assistants, in next five years and create a big pool of caregivers, he said.