Bhubaneswar, May 14: Medical aspirants and people of Mayurbhanj district today heaved a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court-mandated oversight committee issued the letter of permission to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital in Baripada to start admission from the 2017-18 academic session.

"As a very special case, the committee has approved the grant of letter of permission to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital to start with 100 MBBS seats for 2017-18," wrote committee secretary Seshkumar Pulipaka in a letter to the Union health secretary yesterday.

The BJD and BJP have started a competition to make political mileage from this development. Welcoming the decision, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said: "The longstanding demand of the people of Mayurbhanj has been fulfilled." BJP state president Basanta Panda also expressed happiness over the grant of permission.

People of Mayurbhanj had observed a dawn-to-dusk bandh on May 11 in protest against the delay in grant of permission to the Baripada medical college to start admission from the coming financial year.

On the same day, Union health minister J.P. Nadda had called a meeting attended by the officials of Medical Council of India and state government.

It was decided that a team of the Medical Council of India would visit Baripada within this month to check the infrastructure of the Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital and examine the feasibility of its starting MBBS course from the coming academic session.