SCB Expansion: Demolition Drive Begins Today

Cuttack: In a significant development, demolition drive has been started today for the expansion of the SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) with the district administration razing old irrigation residential quarters at Khalasi lane in Jobra area.

Nearly twenty quarters belonging to the Water Resources Department have been razed. The CMC authorities have already requested around 200 families using loudspeakers to vacate the temporary houses and Government quarters on the hospital premises. An area near Nimapur on the opposite side of the Jobra barrage has been identified to rehabilitate the affected families.

The eviction drive is being carried out by the Cuttack district administration after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced to transform the SCBMCH into a state-of-the-art hospital thereby providing world-class healthcare services.

As of now, the campus is spread over about 100 acres, another 50 to 60 acres in the adjoining areas will be added to the campus during the expansion. Around Rs 1,000 crore will be spent for the purpose, according to sources.

Of the required 60 acres, the State Government has already identified around 25 acres of Government land currently under possession of different departments like Water Resources, Technical Education and Higher Education.