CM inaugurates fifth medical college at Baripada, classes to start today

Baripada: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday dedicated Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital here to the people of Mayurbhanj district.

The classes of the first batch of MBBS students for 2017-18 session too commenced with the inauguration. As many as 67 male and 33 female students have already taken admission in MBBS stream, official sources said.

The newly laid campus of the medical college, named after tribal leader-cum-litterateur Pandit Raghunath Murmu, at Rangamatia is nearly complete with classrooms, hostel, laboratories and academic buildings. A multi-speciality complex comprising intensive care unit (ICU), ventilators and chambers for consultation with doctors have also been set up on the premises, the sources added.

In his address, the chief minister said, “Pandit Raghunath Murmu was a great social reformer. Besides creating the script for Santhali-speaking people, he made immense contribution to the field of education and culture. On this occasion, I pay tribute to him, and hope that the student and faculty will follow his vision of giving back to the community and empowering the less privileged.”

This college is another step towards the government’s resolve to ensure inclusive, equitable and sustainable development of the state, he added.

This is the fifth government-run medical college to come up in state following the inauguration of Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital at Koraput a couple of days back. The MKCG Medical College was the last to be established at Berhampur in 1962, nearly 55 years ago. The VSS Medical College at Burla came up in 1959 while SCB Medical College at Cuttack was the first to be set up in 1944.

The medical college and hospital at Baripada is expected to play a huge role in providing quality health services to the people of north Odisha and neighbouring states of Jharkhand and West Bengal.