Bhubaneswar, Aug. 31: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today laid the foundation stone for a medical college in Koraput town.

This will be the second medical college in the undivided Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi (KBK) region. On Sunday, the chief minister had laid the foundation stone for a medical college and hospital in Balangir town.

At Koraput, Naveen said the establishment of a medical college had been a long-standing demand of the people of the region.

"Our government is committed to provide good health care facilities in the region, besides producing more and more doctors in the state that faces a scarcity of doctors," he said.

Naveen was accompanied by health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, who said the proposed medical college would be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 180 crore. In the first phase, there would be 100 MBBS seats in the medical college.

Construction of the medical college has already started on a 50-acre land provided by the state government. The district headquarters hospital will be upgraded and attached to the medical college.

The college will be set up with funds from the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakhsa Yojana. The Centre will provide 75 per cent of the project cost, while the state government will bear the remaining 25 per cent.

The chief minister also laid the foundation stones for two pipe water supply projects, four 100-seat each tribal boys hostels and two 200-seat each tribal girls hostels. While the two water supply projects will be coming up at Dulaguda and Pakhanaguda in Boriguma block, the hostels will be set up in Bandhugaon, Narayanpatna and Dasmantpur blocks.

Naveen inaugurated a hospital of LV Prasad Eye Institute at Pitamahal in Rayagada district and laid the foundation stones of a host of development projects, including an urban primary health centre, Sanskruti Bhavan, a museum, an auditorium and a kalyan mandap at the district headquarters town.

A new police station building and a capacity-building training centre was inaugurated at Bissam Cuttack.

Security was beefed up in the two districts in view of the chief minister's visit because they are affected by Maoist activities.

Yesterday, Jeypore police arrested five farmer leaders after they got a whiff of their plan to protest and draw the attention of the chief minister to the non-payment of dues for paddy procurement.