Complete Keonjhar medical college in two years: Odisha CM

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik issued directions to complete construction work of the proposed government medical college in tribal-dominated Keonjhar district within two years. The construction work of the Rs 314 crore medical college project has been awarded to Tata Projects through a bidding process, officials said adding that the proposed medical college will have 100 under-graduate seats.

Patnaik has already laid the foundation stone for the medical college project and administrative approval is issued by the Keonjhar district administration to start construction work.

The chief minister said that a medical college at Keonjhar would fulfil the long-standing demands of the local people besides providing a better health service facility to the tribal and poor people.

The state is all set to start two medical colleges each having 100 MBBS seats- Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital at Baripada in Mayurbhanj district and at Saheed laxman Naik Medical College and Hospital in Koraput.

Both the new medical colleges would start functioning from 2017-18 academic session.

Apart from these two medical colleges, the state govenrment has plans to set up seven more medical colleges including one at Keonjhar, health and family welfare minister Pratap Jena said.