Bargarh: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday inaugurated 62 projects valued at Rs 2,149 crore and laid foundation stones for 21 other projects worth Rs 265 crore in Bargarh district.
Patnaik inaugurated the projects at a function organised at Kaanapali in the Bijepur area of the district, including the ambitious Gangadhar Meher Irrigation project implemented at a cost of Rs 1,677.42 crore.
He said the Gangadhar Meher irrigation project will irrigate 60,000 acres of land in the district.
Patnaik also inaugurated a 100-bed cancer care centre built at a cost of Rs 106.06 crore.
While unveiling the irrigation project, Patnaik paid tribute to the poet Gangadhar Meher and the great freedom fighter Maa Parvatigiri.
“Bargarh is the land of art and culture. The weavers of this region have established Odisha’s identity across the world,” Patnaik said, adding that his government has recently increased the pension of weavers and artists.
While addressing the gathering, Patnaik said that transformation activities are going on in a big way across the state and cited the instance of the ‘Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa’ or Temple Heritage Corridor project near Shri Jagannath Temple in Puri and the redevelopment project of Maa Samaleswari Temple.
“We have achieved success in the transformation of high schools under this transformation program. The Biju Health Welfare Yojana is a blessing for 4 crore people of Odisha.
The Lakshmi Bus Yojana has made life easier for the people in the villages. Major irrigation projects are being completed on time,” Patnaik said.
The chief minister said that the farmers of Bargarh district have a big contribution for making Odisha a food surplus state.
“I had promised a cancer hospital in Bargarh. Today I have fulfilled it. It will provide better services to the patients in west Odisha,” he said, adding that a total of 11 cancer hospitals are being built across the state under the 5T (transformational) initiative.
More than Rs 1,000 crore will be spent on the hospital projects, the CM said.
The chief minister also informed people about his government’s interest-free loans to the farmers, Mission Shakti members, Nua-O scholarships for college students.
PTI