Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday asked the newly-recruited assistant executive engineers of the Water Resources (WR) department to keep themselves abreast of the emerging technologies and serve with full dedication.
Attending the orientation programme for 275 graduate engineers who joined as assistant executive engineers in the WR department, Naveen said, “Technology is changing rapidly and it is important that all of you update yourself with the latest trends in your field. I am sure all of you will work hard with dedication and sincerity towards the development of the state.”
Stating that Odisha has a huge potential in irrigation and hydropower, he said the engineers are joining the department in an exciting era of transformation in the state. “We will continue to invest in Water Resources development and you will have a prominent role to play in the coming years,” he mentioned.
The Chief Minister further said that Odisha is predominantly an agrarian state. Irrigation is a vital parameter for the prosperity of agriculture and the farmers.
“We have been making huge investments in the irrigation sector over the years. As many as 10 major dam projects, 50 medium dam projects and more than 2,500 minor dam projects are currently operational in the state. Work for major dams like Lower Suktel, Deo, Kanupur and Subarnarekha are in full swing and will be completed soon.
Many other projects are in various stages of construction,” Patnaik said.
He further added that Odisha has become a major source of paddy and other crops for the country, due to the significant role of the irrigation sector.
This is the second batch of recruitment of assistant executive engineers comprising 183 male and 92 female engineers. 242 of them are in civil engineering stream and 33 in mechanical.
The engineers will undergo three-phase training with a 15-day online training followed by a two-month practical training. The third phase training will be given for 15 days.
Attending the programme, Water Resources Minister Raghunandan Das recalled the role of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik in development of water resources in state. He called upon the engineers to focus on proper management of every drop of water.
Department Secretary Anu Garg said that WR is the biggest engineering department of the state government. She outlined the importance of water resources management and spoke about the initiatives the state government has been taking in this sector.
Secretary to Chief Minister (5T) VK Pandian, in a detailed interaction with the engineers, highlighted the importance and various factors of 5T initiative of the Chief Minister and how engineers can follow it and bring a paradigm change in water sources management. Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra and other senior officers attended the programme.