Bhubaneswar: Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on Tuesday made fresh proposal to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to set up the second All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the State at Sundergarh.
Das suggested that the existing infrastructures of a medical college and hospital at Sundergarh can be used for the establishment of the second AIIMS. The infrastructures were developed by the NTPC under corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative for which it had signed an agreement with the State government.
“The project work has already completed and currently procurement of medical equipment is going on. The medical college and hospital has facilities for treatment of 500 patients and intake capacity of 100 MBBS students per year,” Das wrote in the letter.
“This infrastructure may be used for setting up the second AIIMS. It will help the residents of Western Odisha get modern healthcare facilities in their own region,” Das added.
The Health Minister further said the proposed site has adequate road and railway connectivity while the nearby airport is in Jharsuguda.
The Minister said the AIIMS at Bhubaneswar has emerged as one of the leading institutes in the country in terms of medical education and quality healthcare. Apart from the residents of the State, people from outside are also availing treatment facilities at the institute, he said.
“Recently, a second AIIMS was established in Bihar and the proposal for second such institute in other states is pending with the Centre. As western Odisha a populous region, we are proposing for establishment of second AIIMS in Sundergarh,” the Minister justified.
Earlier in November 2020, former Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy had requested Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to consider Odisha demand for the second AIIMS at Sankara in Sundergarh district.