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Bhubaneswar, August 5: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday set deadlines for the completion of infrastructure projects undertaken under Nabakalebara-2015 that culminated the previous week.
Holding a high-level meeting with Chief Secretary GC Pati, development commissioner UN Behera, Nabakalebara Infrastructure Supervision Committee chief Maheswar Mohanty, SJTA chief Suresh Mohapatra and other ministers and officials, Patnaik said the projects should be finished within a stipulated timeframe.
“The CM reviewed the status of various projects that were meant to be wrapped up before Nabakalebara but missed earlier deadlines. Now the CM has given us fresh deadlines,” said Mohanty.
Key projects such as expansion of the Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway, construction of a Sakhigopal underpass and a railway overbridge (ROB) project at Samjajpur were taken up at the meeting.
While February 2016 was set as the deadline for the completion of the national highway project, the railway overbridge will now have to be built by December this year. Likewise, the Sakhigopal underpass would be completed by October this year.
The CM has asked the transport department to ensure regular plying of buses from Malatipatpur bus terminal. The bus terminal built at a budget of Rs 81 crore will be used for parking tourist buses. A branch office of OSRTC, a craft village and a food park will also be set up at the bus terminal.
Drainage and sewerage systems of Puri city were also taken up at the meeting.
It was also decided to document the entire Nabakalebara process for future reference.
“The Chief Minister has asked us to document the entire Nabakalebara festival,” said tourism and culture minister Ashok Chandra Panda. “All concerned departments will work together and coordinate with each other for the purpose,” Panda said.
A Nabakalebara website created for the global promotion of the festival will be managed by the tourism department after August 31.
58 lakh devotees witnessed Nabakalebara in Puri
Bhubaneswar: As many as 58 lakh devotees thronged Puri to witness the Nabakalebara Rath Yatra festival this year, according to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). The footfall was recorded over a span of 12 days starting from the first day of the Rath Yatra to the Niladri Bije ritual of the Trinity. The mega Nabakalebara festival was held this year after a gap of 19 years. The state government had made elaborate arrangements and had taken up 185 various projects for the event. A whopping 1,250 crore was spent on these projects so far. Though the state government drew flak over the mismanagement of the Brahma Paribartan ritual, it received accolades from various quarters including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for successful crowd management during the entire event.
