Rayagada, a district once known primarily for its tribal heartland and remote forests, has over the years transformed into a major industrial and commercial centre of southern Odisha. The rise of large units such as Utkal Alumina, JK Paper Mills, IMFA, Hindalco and several ancillary industries has drawn thousands of workers and their families to the region. As the population has grown, so too has the pressure on its fragile health ecosystem. Today, the district serves not only its own people but also those from neighbouring tribal blocks and adjoining districts who depend on Rayagada as a crucial service hub. Yet, despite its strategic significance and rising healthcare burden, Rayagada remains one of the few major districts in the state without a Government medical college.
This reality, long felt and often voiced by the people, was once again brought to national attention when MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka raised the demand in Lok Sabha under Rule 377. His intervention highlighted an issue that goes beyond administrative planning—it touches upon questions of equity, access, and the long-standing neglect of India’s tribal and backward regions. The only Government medical college in the broader region, located in Koraput, is already stretched far beyond capacity. As cases rise and specialised care becomes increasingly necessary, Koraput alone cannot shoulder the weight of an entire region’s medical needs.
Rayagada’s health system, meanwhile, struggles under severe shortages. Nearly half of all sanctioned posts for doctors and specialists in the district lie vacant, leaving hospitals understaffed and overburdened. For poor tribal families, this often means travelling long distances, sometimes in dire conditions, to seek advanced treatment—travel that can cost both time and lives. Such disparities are especially stark in a region that contributes significantly to the state’s economy yet continues to receive disproportionately little in terms of public health infrastructure.
One of the strongest arguments in favour of a medical college at Rayagada is the availability of suitable land. The site formerly held by the Jeypore Sugar Company (JSCo), now transferred to the Government, offers a ready-to-develop space that could accommodate a modern medical college and teaching hospital. With land issues resolved—a hurdle that often delays projects of this scale—the district stands well-prepared for immediate initiation under centrally sponsored schemes for new medical colleges.
In Parliament, Ulaka urged the Union Government and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to act swiftly: to sanction the establishment of a Government medical college and hospital in Rayagada, to utilise the JSCo land for this purpose, and to fill existing medical vacancies across the district until the institution becomes functional. His appeal was grounded not merely in aspiration, but in the lived realities of a population that has waited far too long for a fair share of accessible healthcare.
A medical college in Rayagada would transform the healthcare landscape of southern Odisha. It would bring advanced medical services closer to lakhs of tribal and economically vulnerable families, reduce avoidable deaths due to delayed treatment, and empower local youth with new avenues for medical education and employment. More importantly, it would signal a long overdue recognition of the region’s needs and its contribution to the state’s development.
The demand is neither new nor sentimental; it is a rational, deeply rooted and widely supported call from the people of Rayagada, Koraput and the surrounding districts. As Ulaka emphasised, this is a priority public health intervention—one that the Union Government must address without further delay. For southern Odisha, a Government medical college at Rayagada is not just an institution; it is a lifeline waiting to be realised.