Tuesday, 30 July 2013 | DIGAMBARA PATRA | in Bhubaneswar
Recently, the State Government has recommended to the Central Government for establishment of four Government medical colleges at Balangir, Koraput, Baripada and Baleswar.
Expansion the SCB Medical College, VSS Medical College and MKCG Medical College is also praiseworthy. Similarly, AIIMS has already started at Bhubaneswar. There is a plan for ESIC medical college at Bhubaneswar and another of its branch at Rourkela. MCL is establishing a medical college at Talcher, while NTPC and Nalco are respectively planning to establish medical colleges in Sundergarh and Koraput, respectively. A plan was there to expand the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar to a medical college.
Excluding the Central University of Koraput, the State Government has not yet established any university in KBK. On the other hand, the National Law University was established at Cuttack and other State Government sponsored universities are located in various locations in the State, such as the Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University at Puri, the Utkal University of Culture at Bhubaneswar, the Ravenshaw University at Cuttack, the BPUT at Rourkela, the OUAT at Bhubaneswar, the North Odisha University at Baripada, the Fakir Mohan University at Baleswar, so on and so forth.
KBK region comprises 30 per cent of State’s area and 20 per cent of its population. However, it does not have the same share in higher educational institutes as enjoyed by other parts of the State.
Based on population and current number of State universities, at least three fully State universities should be established in the KBK region.
Unfortunately, the policy makers of the State Government have continuously ignored the genuine right of the backward and poverty-hit region.
This discrimination is despite all the political claims about the need of special attention for all round development, mainly related to health, education and infrastructure in KBK.
Bhawanipatna is located far away from the State capital and centrally located in KBK. Both Balangir and Koraput have been recommended for Government medical colleges. Thus a Health University in Bhawanipatna should be set up to serve the State as well as health service in the backward region.
Sardar Raja Medical College, Jaring got approved to take students in this academic year. However, this is a private medical college and poor people and poor students may not get benefited from it. Many local people and intellectuals are still skeptical about the quality, service and future of this institute.
At the same time, Bhubaneswar and surrounding region have already many private medical colleges and hospitals, which are not hindering the Government to establish new institutions in Cuttack-Bhubaneswar region. A private medical college in Rourkela is also not hindering to establish new Government medical college in Sundergarh.
Therefore, existence of a poor quality private medical college like Sardar Raja Medical College should not undermine requirement of a Government Health University in the region.
There has been a growing demand to either establish a fully Government medical college by upgrading the district headquarters hospital and regional diagnostic center in Bhawanipatna or take over Sardar Raja Medical College completely as a Government medical college. The issue has come many times in the State Assembly and a motion was also brought by the opposition parties to approve it. Unfortunately, the ruling party did not approve it. Many petitions and letters have been submitted to the Chief Minister both from individuals and through organisations in this matter. But no positive action has been taken towards the grievance.
Keeping in view all the local demands, the need of health in the State, as well as equal distribution of universities in Odisha, a health university is required in Bhawanipatna.
(The writer, a non-resident Odia, teaches at the Department of Chemistry in American University of Beirut in Lebanon.)
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