The town of Burla in the state of Orissa comes under the jurisdiction of the district of Sambalpur and it is a small town located in the banks of the river Mahanadi at a distance of about 15 kms from Sambalpur. The city lies at one end of the Hirakud Dam at a distance of about 2 kms west of the town. On the other side of the dam the township of Hirakud is located. According to the census conducted in the year 2001, the town had a population of nearly 40,000 people and the average literacy rate is 74%, which was comparatively higher than the then national average of 59.5%. The male literacy rate in this town is 81%, while female literacy rate is 66%.

Education in Burla:

Burla is piquant and it is truly a university town since it hosts the Sambalpur University, Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology in addition to many other colleges and schools. With these institutions, the student height in this town is sizable. These universities, particularly Sambalpur University has a number of colleges under its control and many colleges in the state of Orissa are functioning under the jurisdiction of Sambalpur University. Colleges in the city jointly organize many inter-institutional activities that develops the educational experience of the students of Burla. When it comes to Government Colleges in Burla, there is a single government college, which is a medical college functioning with affiliation from Sambalpur University. The name of this single government medical college in the town of Burla along with some of the details regarding this college is given below:

• VSS Medical College, Burla

VSS Medical College, Burla:

As mentioned earlier, VSS Medical College is affiliated to the Sambalpur University and the college is functioning with approval from the Medical Council of India. It is a premier government-run medical college and hospital, which came into existence in the year 1959. The institute offers medical education at the UG and PG level and the institute recently celebrated its golden jubilee in the year 2009. As far as UG medical course is concerned (MBBS), the college is approved with an intake capacity of 150 students per year, while for PG course, the approved intake capacity is 74 students per year. Even the institute offers some paramedical courses like Diploma in Medical Lab Technology, Medical Radiology Technology and General Nursing and Midwifery with an intake capacity of 30, 10 and 50 students respectively for each of these courses. The list of PG courses offered by the VSS Medical College is given below:

• MS in

o Orthopedics

o Otorhinolaryngology

o Ophthalmology

o General Surgery

o Anatomy

• MD in

o Pulmonary Medicine

o Radio diagnosis

o Physiology

o Pharmacology

o Pathology

o Pediatrics

o Obstetrics & Gynecology

o General Medicine

o Community Medicine

o Biochemistry

o Anesthesiology

The college also has a hospital attached to it through which wide ranges of medical services are offered to the patients.

Thus, the town of Burla in the Indian state of Orissa is served by the single government medical college and various other private colleges are functioning in the city for offering education under different faculties.