Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government’s Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Government of India for the establishment of an ESIC Medical College and Hospital at Andharua in Bhubaneswar.
According to official sources, the permanent campus of the proposed medical college will be developed at Andharua. In the initial phase, the existing ESIC Hospital at Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar will be utilised to commence academic and healthcare activities immediately.
For this purpose, the Labour Department on Monday formally handed over the ESIC Hospital to the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation. Officials said the initiative is expected to significantly strengthen healthcare infrastructure and medical education facilities in Odisha.
The existing 100-bed ESIC Hospital at Chandrasekharpur will be upgraded into a 220-bed facility. The upgraded institution is expected to provide comprehensive healthcare services, including dialysis and super-speciality treatment, to ESIC beneficiaries across the state.
The MoU signing ceremony was held at the conference hall on the fifth floor of Kharavel Bhavan in Bhubaneswar in the presence of senior officials of the state government and ESIC.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Department Chithra Arumugam, attended the programme along with other senior officials.
On behalf of the Odisha Government, the agreement was signed by Additional Secretary Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, ESIC Scheme Director Madhumita Nayak, Joint Director Dr. Suryanarayan Padhi, and Superintendent of ESIC Hospital, Chandrasekharpur, Dr. Amiya Kumar Samal.
Representing ESIC, the MoU was signed by East Zone Medical Commissioner Dr. Rachita Biswas, Regional Director of the Bhubaneswar Regional Office Rudradeep Dutta, State Medical Officer Dr. Abha Tirkey, and Executive Engineer (In-charge) Sandeep Goel.
Officials described the agreement as a major step towards strengthening healthcare services and expanding medical education opportunities in Odisha.
