Vedanta garners intelligentsia support

Tathya.in, April 26, 2007

Bhawanipatna:26/April/2007
Now Vedanta Alumina Limited (VAL) has a new found support of intelligentsia of Kalahandi.

Leading Non Resident Oriya (NRO) Digambara Patra who hails from Kalahandi has supported VAL to put up its alumina project in Lanjigarh along with other learned group of citizens.

Dr.Patra of Waseda University of Tokyo in an interview with tathya.in said intelligentsia and people in general of the district support the plant as it will be first major industrialization of the Kalahandi and Nuapada.

He said though mining in Niyamgiri might disturb the rich bio diversity of the area, despite that people in general of Kalahandi are willing to take the risk in support of industrial development in the district by VAL.

In return the people also expect VAL to set up a hospital cum medical college near to its proposed alumina plant, per say in Lanjigarh or Bhawanipatana, under its branch of Vedanta University near Puri for the benefit of displaced (due to its alumina plant and mining in the region) and poor tribals in KBK region, he said.

Dr. Patra said by establishing such a hospital in the region, it would have not only benefit the state by providing secondary and tertiary medical facilities for the above districts and will boost the primary health care in KBK region.

Over and above this announcement will garner local support for VAL’s alumina project, he hoped.

How ever he along with other think tanks in the country have raised doubts over the actual hidden agenda of a mining company over the announcement towards establishing a 1000 bedded hospital and medical college in the proposed university campus at Puri.

He said the fact is that Vedanta Foundation (VF)’s proposal for world Class University includes a faculty of medicine for medical education.

For any medical college a hospital is required to train medical students and Vedanta is no different.

So, the announcement made by Mr Agrawal and Chief Minister to the people of Orissa has not brought cheers for the people except repeating the old proposal in a different tone, he alleged.

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