Former BJD MLA Raseswari Panigrahi critically ill, under treatment in Sambalpur

Former BJD MLA Raseswari Panigrahi is critically ill and currently undergoing treatment at her residence in Shanti Nagar locality of Sambalpur district. Her health condition is serious due to neurological complications, sources said on Monday.

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The senior doctor had become critical since last evening. She is not able to speak now.

Panigrahi, who represented Sambalpur constituency in the 2014 Odisha Legislative Assembly as a member of the Biju Janata Dal, has been receiving medical care at home.

Before entering politics, she had a distinguished career in medicine. She had completed her MBBS from Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) and joined government service in 1972 as a Gynaecology Specialist. She began her medical career at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in Sundargarh.

Later, Panigrahi served as a professor at a medical college, continuing her contribution to healthcare until retirement. Her early education had begun at Ispat Vidyalaya in Rourkela, followed by her studies at Gangadhar Meher College in Sambalpur, where her aspiration to become a doctor took shape from a young age.

Her transition from the medical profession to public service has marked a notable chapter in Odisha’s political and social landscape. She is not widely acclaimed as a noted gynaecologist in Western Odisha alone, but also in the neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

Panigrahi had been rendering free medical support to the needy people and the have-nots. Her sincerity, honesty, integrity, straightforwardness and cordial behaviour have endeared her to one and all in the district and outside.

However, no comments were received from Panigrahi’s family in this regard.