Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met Union Health Minister A Ramdoss on Friday and urged him to start the work on AIIMS, Bhubaneswar without further delay. It may be noted that the State Government has already made available land to the Government of India for this purpose.

“Work on the much delayed regional centre of the All India Institute of Medical Science will commence from January 2008,” said the Union health minister Mr A Ramdoss. It may be noted that the foundation stone for the proposed project was laid amidst much fanfare by the then PM Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. But the NDA government had reportedly failed to make budgetary provisions.

Ramdoss reportedly assured Patnaik that work would begin latest by 2008. Discussion was also held on wide-ranging issues in the health sector. Patnaik requested Ramdoss for opening of a paediatric centre at Berhampur for treatment of children affected by HIV and AIDS. He also pursued the request made by the State Government for installation of CD-4 machines in the three medical colleges at Cuttack, Berhampur and Sambalpur for detection of HIV and AIDS.
Patnaik also requested him to sanction state-of-the art machines such as Linear Accelerator for the cancer hospital at Cuttack. Ramdoss reportedly assured Patnaik that all support would be extended for this purpose.