BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday laid the foundation stones for a state-of-the-art cancer hospital and a palliative care centre here at Infovalley. While one is the proposed Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, the other is the Bagchi-Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre.
The Sri Shankar Foundation will run the 750-bed cancer hospital, while a Bengaluru-based hospice trust will run the 110-bed palliative care unit. It will help the capital city become a leading centre in cancer care and palliative services in the country. The palliative care unit will provide services free of cost, officials said.
Subroto Bagchi, chairman of the Odisha Skill Development Authority, and wife Susmita Bagchi, chairperson of Mo School Abhiyan, have donated Rs 340 crore for these two cancer care institutions. The chief minister praised the couple for this noble effort.
Naveen while addressing the people on the occasion said both the institutions will help the patients of Odisha in accessing quality healthcare facilities. The state government will provide all support for its early completion, he added.
The Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation, led by Dr Srinath, is setting up the cancer hospital which will work on a cross-subsidy model. Naveen further said Kishore Rao and Gurmeet Randhawa, founders of the Bangalore Hospice Trust and their team have been serving the needs of the dying with dignity for more than 25 years through their Karunashraya.
Dr Srinath of the Shankar Cancer Foundation said the hospital will be a one-stop cancer centre with all the treatment facilities, including bone marrow transplantation. The hospital will have a facility for PG training in oncology, he added.
Randhawa said the palliative centre in Bhubaneswar will be developed as the best palliative care facility in the world. They will train more than 25,000 youths, including tribal girls, in the next five years.
“We are starting this initiative on the day of Rath Yatra and there cannot be a more devotional work than serving the people,” Subroto Bagchi, said. His wife, Susmita, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
