Baripada: In a major boost to healthcare and infrastructure in northern Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Monday dedicated a new 650-bed building for the Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital (PRMMCH) here.
This is part of a comprehensive Rs 430.26 crore package of 39 projects aimed at strengthening infrastructure, healthcare, and drinking water supply across Mayurbhanj district.
The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for 21 projects worth over Rs 282 crore and inaugurated 18 projects valued at more than Rs 149 crore. A highlight of the event was the inauguration of 83 drinking water projects built at a cost of nearly Rs 100 crore, which are expected to resolve long-standing potable water issues in the region.
Speaking on the occasion, CM Majhi described the modern multi-specialty 650-bed hospital, constructed at a cost of Rs 258 crore, as a landmark addition to the healthcare landscape of North Odisha. He said the facility would serve not only Mayurbhanj but also neighbouring districts, states, and tribal-dominated areas, emerging as a major referral centre equipped with advanced diagnostic services, specialist departments, critical care, emergency services, and medical education infrastructure.
“The new hospital will bring quality healthcare closer to people’s homes, reducing the financial and physical burden on patients and their families who earlier had to travel to distant cities,” Majhi said.
He expressed confidence that the medical college would play a key role in community health, maternal and child health, public health research, and awareness generation, particularly among tribal populations.
The Chief Minister called upon medical students to view the medical profession as a sacred duty rather than merely a career. “Doctors are seen as the second form of God by society. It is their responsibility to protect lives between birth and death,” he said, emphasising that compassion and empathy are as important as modern medical equipment in healing patients.
He urged future doctors to prioritise service to the poorest, marginalised, and tribal communities in the most remote areas.
Majhi also highlighted the state government’s broader healthcare initiatives, including the Ayushman Bharat-Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, which provides free treatment to 3.46 crore people from 1.30 crore families. He noted that three new medical colleges – Jajpur, Kandhamal, and Talcher – have become operational in the last 20 months, with more in the pipeline.
Health Minister Dr Mukesh Mahaling stressed the government’s commitment to strengthening health infrastructure and stated that the new hospital would transform the health map of North Odisha.
The event was also attended by Environment & Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, Mayurbhanj MP Nav Charan Majhi, several MLAs including Bhaskar Chandra Mohanty (Udala), Prakash Soren (Baripada), and others, along with district officials led by Collector Hemakant Say.
