Ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Odisha, the state government has brought back into focus the issue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance to turn the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) run by Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) into a medical college with a super-speciality hospital.

The President will be visiting the state for two days from March 21 to inaugurate the super-speciality hospital into which IGH has been converted.

But that is only part fulfilment of the promise made by the Prime Minister to the people of Rourkela during his visit to the steel city in 2015. The IGH is still far from becoming a medical college.

The state government took the opportunity of reminding the union steel ministry headed by Dharmendra Pradhan, who hails from Odisha, about Modi’s public assurance of upgrading the IGH into a medical college and super specialty hospital. It is significant to note that the contentious issue is being raised ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to inaugurate the super speciality Ispat General Hospital in Rourkela.

In a letter to Union steel minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha steel and mines minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik reminded the minister how the IGH was converted into a 200-bedded super specialty hospital but not into a medical college even six years after the Prime Minister’s announcement to this effect.

“We are quite disappointed. The people of the state are disappointed. The authorities have failed to convert the hospital into a medical college despite the Prime Minister’s promise in this regard. Besides the Prime Minister, the then Union steel minister Narendra Singh Tomar also assured us to set up a medical college in Rourkela,” Mallik told reporters on Tuesday.

On April 1, 2015, Modi during his visit to Rourkela had announced that the IGH would be converted into a medical college and super specialty hospital. The work was being carried out by the RSP. Now the super specialty hospital will be dedicated to the people by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Union steel minister Pradhan on Tuesday met the President in Rashtrapati Bhavan and extended an invitation to him to visit Odisha. “Called on Hon President Sh. Ram Nath Kovind today to extend a formal invitation to him for his forthcoming visit to Odisha. Honoured to present him with a traditional handwoven cotton “gamcha” made by dalit artisans from Athamallik town of Angul district in Odisha.# Vocal for Local. Hon. President is scheduled to undertake a two day visit to Odisha on the 21st and 22nd March during which he will attend several programmes and also inaugurate the RSP-run Ispat General Hospital in Rourkela,” Pradhan tweeted.