Now, it seems, the demand for a medical college in Rayagada district has picked up pace.
Several civil society bodies of the district, namely the Nagarika Manch, the Odisha Adibasi Manch, the Zilla Sambadika Sangha, the Merchants Association, the Kalinga Vaishya Sangham, the Utkal Pradeshik Marwari Sammelan, the Utkal Andhra Brahman Seva Samajam, the Rayagada Bar Association, the Lions Club of Rayagada, the Walkers Club, the Kalyan Vekateswara Swamy Devasthanam, the District Rice Millers Association and the Daily Market Association have decided to write to CM Naveen Patnaik with copies to PM Narendra Modi, Health Ministers and Secretaries at the State and Centre, the district Collector, etc reiterating their demand for the medical college at Rayagada.
Recently, representatives of all these bodies held a meeting and took out a rally accompanied by Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka and leaders across party lines in this regard.
They acknowledged the good intention of the State Government to have identified Rayagada district for a medical college in Public Private Partnership(PPP) mode by floating bid during 2011 and 2014.
Former Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak during 2014 had declared that 20-25 acres of land had been identified and would be given free of cost to the highest bidder along with financial assistance from the Government of India’s viability gap funding. Unfortunately, this could not be materialised because of lack of a strong political will and resentment from the public, opined AK Sharda, environmentalist and industrialist associated with JK Paper Mills for a long time in
Rayagada.
According to general secretary of Zilla Sambadika Sangha Rabindra Patakhandal, “The atmosphere is really conducive now for a medical college in Rayagada. The GOI has planned for 75 medical colleges out of which 26 are approved for the States; but Odisha has not got a single one as it has not sent any Detailed Project Report(DPR). So there is no dearth of finance.”
MP Ulaka who has raised the issue in the Parliament and at whose behest Congress President Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the Union Health Minister for the medical college in Rayagada, said the State needs to send a DPR immediately to the Centre.
Rayagada MLA Makaranda Muduli has recently raised the issue in the State Assembly. Minister Jagannath Saraka and MLA Raghunath Gomango also have met CM Patnaik and put forth a request for a medical college. The core committee members also have met Rajya Sabha MP N Bhaskar Rao and Sudhir Das, advisor, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana and persuaded them to fix an appointment with CM Naveen Patnaik, it was known.