Bhubaneswar: The benevolent gesture shown by entrepreneur couple Subroto and Susmita Bagchi has received all the appreciation from the people of Odisha and outside. Their coming forward to establish two state of the art healthcare facilities – the Bagchi-Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre and the Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital & Research Institute in Bhubaneswar is a testimony to their commitment to the state of Odisha. Subroto and Susmita, who are well-known for their philanthropic activities, have won the hearts by pledging Rs 340 Crore for the dream projects that will provide succor to many people in the coming days.
The Odisha government has also shown its momentum to the projects by immediately approving them in the Cabinet meeting held on Monday headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The government will provide twenty acres in Bhubaneswar for setting up the facilities free of cost. While the Bagchi-Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre in Bhubaneswar will be first of its kind in Odisha with 100 beds initially and plans for expansion, it will provide all the services free to the patients. The second envisions setting up of a state of the art Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital & Research Institute in Bhubaneswar with 250 beds initially which will be expanded to 500 beds in future. Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation, a not for profit organization based out of Bengaluru will establish the Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at the Info Valley in Bhubaneswar.
The cancer hospital will be ready by the year 2024. While 25 percent of the beds will be reserved for free treatment to the needy, another 25 per cent beds will be kept for patients supported by the government in different schemes.
One of the co-founders of IT company Mindtree and present Chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority, Subroto Bagchi and his wife Susmita Bagchi, presently the Chairperson of Mo School Program of Odisha Government have already proved their mettle in entrepreneurship and for them the time has now come to serve their soil. While they are already working closely with the state government on important assignments, this new initiative will take them to new heights. During the initial days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the couple had donated Rs 10 Crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
While Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appreciated the philanthropic gesture of Mr and Mrs Bagchi by immediately approving the projects in the Cabinet Meeting, other have also loved their concern and commitment for the state. Senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra also took to twitter and wrote “ Appreciations for Sushmita and Subroto Bagchi for their fantastic gesture. It will be an inspiration for many.”
Member of Parliament Amar Patnaik said “This is really inspiring! I thank Shri Subroto Bagchi and his wife Smt. Susmita who’ve pledged Rs 340cr for the Centre while the State will allot 20 acres of land free of cost. I also express my gratitude to @shankaracancer for pitching in.” the tweeterati is agog with congratulatory messages for the Bagchi couple. Here are some of them…