ROURKELA: The Orissa unit of CITU with support from mainstream political parties has renewed the demand to set up the proposed medical college and hospital (MCH) of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) at Rourkela. An action committee formed today at an all-party meeting resolved to put pressure on the State Government to pave way for locating the MCH at Rourkela having high concentration of ESIC insured persons (IPs).
The move came after the CITU, which has been pursuing the issue, received a regret letter from the office of the ESIC Director General informing about the State Government’s recommendation to locate the MCH in Bhubaneswar.
Led by Orissa unit CITU general secretary Bishnu Mohanty, the meeting pointed out that of the 2.4 lakh IPs across Orissa, the industrial and mining district of Sundargarh along with adjacent Keonjhar, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts account for 1.4 lakh IPs. Hence, there is no justification in locating the MCH in Bhubaneswar which has a number of MCHs and super specialty hospitals, the meeting observed.
Among others, BJD Rourkela unit president AC Mohanty, AITUC and CPI leader Pravat Mishra, HMS leader Arun Parida and Congress leaders Pravat Mohaptra and Ramesh Bal attended.
Separately, Sundargarh MP and former chief minister Hemanand Biswal also demanded locating the MCH at Rourkela.
Sources said the ESIC has proposed to set up the multi-crore MCH in PPP mode in Orissa. Earlier, ESIC rejected a proposal to late the MCH in Balangir district due to inadequate ESIC beneficiaries in the region.
Samaja, Oct 1, 2009
Dharitri, Oct 1, 2009
The Pioneer, Sept 2, 2009
Western Orissa urges Naveen to shift proposed ESIC Hospital to Rourkela
Aurobinda Das | Rourkela
Resentment is growing among the Rourkelites, with the Government’s decision of setting up an ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Bhubaneswar. Irrespective of party affiliations, a forum has come up to pursue Naveen Patnaik to relocate the ESIC Medical College here.
On this issue, an all-party meeting was convened in the district committee office of CITU on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Rourkela Press Club president Muralidhar Parija. Among others, CITU State general secretary Bishnu Mohanty, former Rourkela Congress MLA Pravat Mohapatra, Rourkela BJD president Ananda Mohanty, former Rourkela Municipal chairman and president Rourkela Bar Association Ramesh Bal, CPI(M) Sundargarh district committee secretary Banamali Dhupal, CITU leaders Biman Maity, Jahangir Ali, CPI leaders Pravat Mishra, Pradyosh Mohanty, SK Chakraborty, HMS leader Arun Parida, senior journalist AP Biswal spoke on the occasion and expressed their solidarity in their demand for ESIC Hospital.
According to the speakers till 2008, the ESIC, which is under the Labour Ministry had deposited Rs 22,000 crore as collections from the workers on Insurance Head. Hence, the Central Government decided to set up 22 ESIC Medical Colleges in different States including one in Orissa and the State Government was asked to give consent to the place where the institution would be set up. But the State Government’s unilateral decision of ignoring Rourkela, proposed to set it up at Bharatpur, Bhubaneswar.
Justifying their demand, the speakers claimed that out of 2.40 lakh ESIC insured workers in Orissa, 1.70 lakh which is 70 per cent, are from Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur. Hence, the suitable place for setting up the ESIC Medical College should be in western Orissa and that too in Rourkela, they said.
They pointed out that the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack is near Bhubaneswar and there are three private medical colleges functioning in the capital. Besides, an AIIMS counter would be coming up soon in Bhubaneswar. Notwithstanding the presence of these institutions, the State Government has proposed to upgrade the Capital Hospital to a Medical College and the Indian Railways and MHRD have proposals to set up two more Medical Colleges in Bhubaneswar.
However, the total health service in the Steel City is in a precarious condition. Patients afflicted with serious diseases go to Cuttack or Bhubaneswar for treatment or proceed to Delhi if they can afford it. Presently due to lack of specialists in many departments in RGH and IGH, patients face a difficult situation. So justice would be meted out to Steel City as well as to western Orissa, if the ESIC Hospital is set up in Rourkela. An eight-member action committee was formed to convince the Chief Minister to change his decision.
It may be mentioned, that few NROs like Dr Digambar Patra, Prasanta Sahoo and B Jena who are initiating the movement among the Oriyas have already shot off letters to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister in this regard. It is now left to the Chief Minister to consider the sentiments of western Orissa, they opined.
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