New Delhi- Drawing the government’s attention to the rapidly increasing number of cancer cases in Odisha’s Bargarh district, Bargarh Member of Parliament Pradeep Purohit has strongly emphasized the urgent need to make the Bargarh Cancer Hospital fully functional at the earliest. In this regard, he has written to the government, demanding immediate and concrete steps.
According to official data, the number of cancer patients in Odisha stood at 43,210 in 2013, which rose to 52,960 by 2022. During the same period, cancer-related deaths increased from 23,886 to 29,287. As per the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Cancer Registry Programme, this figure is expected to cross 55,000 by 2025.
In western Odisha, nearly 22,000 new cancer cases were reported between 2021 and 2023 across districts including Bargarh, Sambalpur and Balangir. A large number of these patients were forced to travel outside the state for treatment, leading to severe financial burden and mental distress for patients and their families.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government has been providing better health security to the poor through schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, while strengthening healthcare infrastructure with the commitment of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.”
In this context, MP Pradeep Purohit has demanded that all sanctioned posts at the Bargarh Cancer Hospital, constructed at a cost of Rs 138 crore, be filled without delay so that poor cancer patients of Odisha can receive timely, accessible and quality treatment. He has also urged the immediate commencement of essential services such as PET-CT scan, radiotherapy and ICU facilities, which would significantly reduce the compulsion of patients to seek treatment outside the region.
Raising the matter under Rule 377, the MP stated that he seeks to draw the government’s attention to the alarming rise in cancer cases in western Odisha, particularly in Bargarh district, and to the urgent need to make the Bargarh Cancer Hospital fully operational at the earliest.
