Union labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Sunday said there is no plan to set up an ESI Medical College in the State and informed that the Bhubaneswar ESI Hospital would be made a super specialty one. “The beds will be increased from the existing 50 to 100 in two months at the Bhubaneswar ESI hospital,” Dattatreya told reporters here after visiting the hospital. The Minister interacted with the patients and later held discussions with the doctors and hospital authorities.
While stating that there is no plan for an ESI Medical College in the State, he suggested the State Government to make the ESI dispensaries at Chhendipada in Angul and Khuntuni in Cuttack district functional. Informing that bidi workers’ wages would be hiked soon, the Union Minister also said that his Ministry has enhanced the financial contribution for the housing scheme of bidi workers from `40,000 to `1 lakh.