Archive for February, 2014
Balasore, Koraput and Balangir medical colleges get central nod
Following is a report from the TOI:
BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has given its nod for establishment of three medical colleges in the state during the 12th five year plan, health secretary Pradipta Mohapatra said here on Thursday.
The Centre would provide 75% funds for these colleges with the rest coming from the state coffers, he said, adding, the colleges will have 100 MBBS seats each.
Mohapatra said the new colleges would come up at Balasore, Koraput and Balangir at an initial investment of Rs 189 crore each. District headquarters hospitals in these places will be attached to these medical colleges, land for which will be provided by the state government within 10 km of the hospitals.
These proposed medical colleges are part of a central scheme, under which 58 colleges would be established across the country by 2017. Construction of these colleges would start soon after signing of MoUs with the Centre, he said.
Odisha had requested the Centre to grant four such colleges, including one at Baripada, a statement issued by the chief minister’s office said. CM Naveen Patnaik has expressed his anguish over the central government not considering the state proposal for medical college at Baripada.
“Considering that Mayurbhanj district is tribal dominated, the Centre should also consider the demand of converting Mayurbhanj district headquarters hospital at Baripada into a medical college along with the three others,” the CM was quoted as saying.
Odisha currently has nine medical colleges.
New daily passenger train between Sambalpur and Bhawanipatna
Following is a screenshot from a DNA report:
Matkhai festival concludes with a Koshali language play
BALANGIR: A play in Koshali language was the highlight of the concluding day of five-day national multi-lingual theatre festival ‘Matkhai Mahotsav’ at Balangir on Saturday. The festival was organized by socio-cultural organization Bhumika.
The play ‘Gara Bandha’ revolved around erstwhile royal tradition of hunting by kings. Gara Bandha was a man, who used to accompany kings and symbolized the prey during hunting.
“The play depicted the life and struggle of a Gara Bandha. It portrayed the exploitative royal tradition. Through the play we want to send a message across the society how in the past right to life was violated,” said president of the festival Chittaranjan Das.
Odia play ‘haat’, based on plight of bonded labourers, pulled huge crowd as Balangir is known for large-scale migration. Another play Gabbar Ghichor in Bhojpuri also portrayed migration woes.
A Delhi-based drama troupe performed Nachnia (dancer), based on struggle and livelihood of dancing community. “The play mirrored how the dancing communities were looked down upon by the society. They were artiste yet they never got due recognition and respect,” said Dharmendra Nanda, member of the festival.
On the closing day, BJP state president K V Singhdeo attended the festival as chief guest.
“Matkhai Mahotsav is not only offering entertainment through plays but also proving to be a tool for spreading socio-economic and socio-political awareness,” said chairman of the festival Narasingh Mishra. Matkhai is the name of a hill, situated on the outskirts of the town.
Nine more medical colleges in Odisha
Following is a PTI report published in Zee news:
Berhampur (Odisha): Odisha government is taking steps to set up nine more medical colleges in different parts of the state and to increase the number of seats in MBBS course from 150 to 250 in government-run medical colleges at Berhampur and Burla from next academic year.
Presently there are three government and five privately-managed medical colleges in the state. Government medical colleges are running at Berhampur, Burla and Cuttack.
“We are now taking steps to set up nine more medical colleges with 100 seats each in different parts of the state,” state Health Secretary PK Mohapatra said.
While four district headquarters hospitals – Balangir, Balasore, Koraput and Mayurbhanj would be elevated to medical colleges, tender would be floated soon to invite the promoters to set up medical colleges in Gajapati and Rayagada districts in public-private partnership mode, he said.
The government has already signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for establishing a medical college at Sundargarh, while an MoU would be signed soon with Mahanadi Coal Ltd (MCL) and private promoter for setting up medical colleges at Talcher and Chandipur in Nayagarh district, he stated.
The government would provide 25 acres of land and viable funds to the selected promoters for establishment of medical college in Gajapati and Rayagada districts, he said. But the promoters must have experience in the field of medical education.
Besides these, he said MBBS seats in MKCG Medical College, Berhampur and VSS Medical College, Burla would be increased from 150 to 250 from next year. MBBS seat in SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack was increased to 250 last year.
A team from Medical Council of India (MCI) is likely to visit the state in June to inspect the infrastructure facilities in these medical colleges, he said adding steps have been taken to improve the infrastructure facilities in both the colleges.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, February 02, 2014, 12:45
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum 