Puri Medical College may miss commencement session 2019 deadline

Puri: The academic session for the year 2019-20 at the proposed government medical college here is unlikely to take off as there are several hurdles like delayed construction work that will keep it from happening.

The private agency involved in infrastructural completion has been told to be done with the job by 2018.

The Medical Council’s mandatory consent for doctor, health staff and other appointments for the year 2019, though, will be difficult to come by, stated a source.

A few years ago the state government’s announcement to open a 100 seat medical college in Puri had resulted in 25 acres being identified in Samang Mouza. As the land was owned by Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the government in lieu of this land, gave the temple administration land, elsewhere, revealed sources.

The Rs. 205 crore healthcare facility, envisioned to be ready for commencement of classes by 2017-18, could not meet the target due to delayed land transfer to the construction company and Power supply problems to the construction site; though the foundation stone had been laid on July 4, 2015, by the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik.

The construction work that took off last year in March, has a 5 story building coming up. It will house a 650 seat auditorium, a mortuary for the health institute and a hostel for students

“The Health Department has asked the construction company to complete the project by August 2018. However, no step was taken to review the project regularly and expedite the work,” said a social activist.

The affiliated hospital to be set up by the health department is nowhere in sight.

Earlier, there was a suggestion to upgrade the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) for it. However, infrastructural issues led to the proposal being discarded. “Classes at the medical college cannot be commenced in the absence of a hospital,” claimed a source to Orissa Post.

The Health Minister, Pratap Jena stated that the students would initially begin with using the DHH for the beginning years. “We will take a call on setting up of a hospital after three years’ of the medical college inauguration,” Jena added.