 It took its birth as a small dispensary as First Aid Centre in the premises of the present medical college during the days of Maharatha rule in the later half of the eighteenth century.The sole purpose of that dispensary was to render whatever little medical assistance was available and feasible to the sick pilgrims en route to and from Puri, especially during the "Car Festival" of Lord Jagannath.This dispensary continued to function admirably till the British occupation of Orissa in 1803.