Odisha CM Patnaik inaugurates air ambulances for four tribal-dominated districts

Under the new scheme, critical patients can be airlifted to hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, and specialised doctors — neurologists, nephrologists and cardiologists from various medical colleges and private hospitals — will fly to the four districts under per a pre-arranged schedule to treat patients with severe illness, officials said. “This is a major step towards providing timely treatment and healthcare facilities. The scheme will soon expand to other locations as well. The state government will bear the cost of treatment in all the cases,” state Health Minister Naba Kishore Das said.

A team of doctors, including a cardiologist and urologist, took the inaugural flight from Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar to Malkangiri. The patients had earlier been selected through teleconsultations.

The new scheme has been launched days after Patnaik kicked off his government’s much publicised smart health card scheme. Earlier, the CM had also made marathon visits to all districts in the state, dedicating a slew of developmental projects.

However, the BJP dismissed the measures as little more than political gimmicks.

“This is a rigorous poll campaign by the BJD. They are suddenly concerned about districts which they never looked at or thought about. If they are genuinely concerned they must work towards the overall development of these regions as well,” said BJP leader Bijay Pradhan.

The rural polls are being touted as a litmus test for the 2024 Assembly polls and general elections.
In the last rural elections held in 2017, the BJP had entered Odisha as a major electoral force. Of the 846 zilla parishad seats, the BJD had won 473 seats and BJP won 297 seats, while the Congress could muster only 60 seats.