One of the defining aspects of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s long and phenomenal political career has been to give people and places in his state their due, whether it be in terms of rights, recognition or development.
Therefore, it came as no big surprise when the five-time CM – during Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi’s ongoing three-day visit to Odisha – called for the establishment of AIIMS in Sundargarh.
While meeting with Joshi at Naveen Niwas, the Chief Minister made this demand in view of the district’s substantial contribution to the nation’s energy security and development goals through the mining of coal, which is a key ingredient in steel and iron ore production.
There had indeed been a long-standing need in this tribal-dominated industrial district of north-western Odisha for a branch of India’s premier medical institute. The people there had suffered much inconvenience as a result of a relative lack of good healthcare facilities.
The Naveen Patnaik administration has, of course, been doing more than its fair bit to change things.
The NTPC has built in Sundargarh a hospital with 500 beds and a medical school with 100 seats. With classes expected to commence from the year 2022-23 academic year, the state government has already sanctioned 271 teaching and non-teaching posts. However, in a bid to make the district self-sufficient in healthcare for years to come, the Odisha government is pushing for an AIIMS branch there and has assured full assistance to the Centre on this front.
During his meeting with the union minister, the CM also took the opportunity to request the Centre for getting the already constructed medical college and hospital in Angul, another coal-producing district, up and running.
Stating that Odisha contributed a quarter of the total coal production in India, Patnaik also demanded that his state should receive at least 60% of the clean energy cess that the Centre collects from it – amounting to a sum of Rs 30,000 crore, which could then be used for the economic development of the coal-mining areas in the state.
A similar level of zeal and effort from the CM towards protecting and highlighting Odisha’s heritage has led to the discovery of hitherto unknown cultural and architectural riches. Thanks to his government’s Ekamra beautification project, teams from the Archaeological Survey of India have unearthed the remains of many ancient temples that could contribute significantly to what is known so far about Odisha’s rich history.
Recently, an ASI team stumbled upon the remains of a 10th-century shrine while carrying out excavation work at the Suka Sari temple complex. This shrine is believed to be even older than the famed Lingaraj Temple near which it was found. Many such gems, buried under Illegal encroachment and construction in the area since Independence, will finally get deserved attention and, on their part, be invaluable additions to the cultural and architectural heritage of not just Odisha but India and the world at large.
Meanwhile, Odisha’s position as a national and international sports hub has further risen, as the Badminton World Federation’s recently released events calendar revealed a new tournament – the Odisha Open – that will most likely be held in Cuttack from January 25 to 30 next year.
These recent events also encapsulate the defining message of the Chief Minister’s 21-year rule in Odisha: If there is a will, there is a way.
Comment here