Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada

About Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada

India witnessed unpreced -ented enthusiasm among the people in 1947 when the country was liberated from foreign domination of over three centuries. There was an ardent desire to develop our mother land in all fields and see that it had an honourable place in the comity of Nations. In our state too, leaders of all walks of life strove hard for its holistic development. Prominent among them in the medical field were Col. Dr. D.S.Raju, valiant freedom fighter and a close associate of Netaji and Dr. M. V. Krishna Rao, a man of great vision. These two stalwarts who had been dreaming of starting a private medical college to cater to the needs of the students of coastal Andhra in general, and East & West Godavari districts in particular, founded and registered the Medical Education Society on 16th April 1958 with the triple object of promoting Medical Education, Medical research and Medical relief through voluntary effort.

While Col. Raju was engaged in the task of collecting donations to the proposed Medical College, Dr. M.V. Krishna Rao did all the spade work for the starting of the institution. Eminent doctors like I.Joga Rao, P. V.N.Raju, K. Chandra Rao, A. Perisastry, B.Venkata Raju and P.R. Hari extended a helping hand. The then Municipal chairman Sri Dantu Bhaskara Rao heartily cooperated with the endeavour, with the result the starting of a Medical college, which was till then an ambition, became a reality.

On behalf of Sri Mullapudi Venkata Rayudu Memorial Educational Trust of Tanuku, its Chariman Sri. M. Harischandra Prasad offered a Donation of five lakhs for the college. The college was named at his request after his late brother in law Sri. P. Ranga Rao, Zamindar of Dommeru and Sri Harischandra Prasad was taken as Vice President of the society. Prominent among other donors was Sri Kotamarthi Venkanna, a generous business man of Kakinada who gifted a site of 61/2 acres. This site is now called the "Kotamarthi Park" on which stands the present mens hostels.

Sri Draksharama Choultry Trust represented by the Pydah family gave a donation of rupees fifty thousand with which a Lecture Hall has been constructed. Many other worthy persons contributed smaller donations amounting to about rupees 2.5 lakhs.

The Maharaja of Pithapuram leased out the Palatial Orphanage buildings(now the Main Campus) to house the Medical College. Within 21/2 months two lecture halls and a Dissection hall were newly constructed and ready for occupation.The formal inauguration of the Rangaraya Medical College was done on 17th November 1958 by Sri. N. Sanjeeva Reddy, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. One hundred students were admitted in August 1958, and the teaching work for first MBBS was initiated on 15th August 1958 by late Dr. V.S. Krishna, Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University.

The departments of Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry and Biochemistry with fully equipped their laboratories were readied by that date. The service of very eminent and senior retired Professors were secured for these departments. The late Dr. Basudeva Narayana, a distinguished Physiologist, joined as Professor of Physiology and Dr. S.K. Basu, a distinguished anatomist joined as Professor of Anatomy and Dr. D. Narayana Rao, a distinguished retired Professor of Bio Chemistry joined as Professor of Bio Chemistry and acted as Principal during the crucial months of the college. A band of young well qualified and experienced lecturers were recruited to the various departments. At this stage, the hard work of Dr. G. Ramadas, an officer deputed as Assistant Professor of Physiology and assistant to the Principal deserves mention.

The Orphanage building was adequate to locate the pre clinical departments but with the lapse of time, when the para clinical courses were introduced, accommodation had to be provided for them. Initially they were located in the Simpson Buildings (Present Ideal Junior College) but later a three storeyed building was constructed to house Clinical Biochemistry and laboratory for Microbiological Investigations. Buildings for the department of Forensic Medicine and a Mortuary were also constructed in the Government General Hospital Campus. Subsequently an area of 3 acres 24 cents was alienated from the P. R. Government College and a new block in which Central Library are now located, was built. Besides the above, the block has two big lecture galleries, each accommodating 300 students. In the year 1969 proposal for the construction of staff quarters worth 12 lakhs was made. They were completed in the year 1972 and were ready for occupation. An auditorium for accommodating 1000 was built in the year by the Medical Education Society at a cost of 4.20 lakhs. A proposal for the construction of 1st floor over the Anatomy building was made in the same year to accommodate the Physiology department. A Gymnasium worth 5700/- is constructed in the year 1972 for the benefit of the students and staff of Rangaraya Medical College.

In the year 1977 Government of Andhra Pradesh took over the privately managed RMC. In 1981 Rangaraya Medical College became a full fledged Government Medical College.