Bolangir: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday the Centre has been striving hard to develop eastern India, including Odisha as he launched projects worth Rs 1,550 crore.
“We have either inaugurated or laid the foundation stones of projects worth Rs 1,550 crore. They are aimed at improving education, connectivity, culture and tourism,” he said here.
“When a region is well-connected, it positively impacts all sectors, especially tourism,” he said. Odisha has become a hub of all types of tourists and the Centre has been engaged in developing its heritage sites over last four years. The projects included the 28.3-acre Multi-Modal Logistics (MML) at Jharsuguda, the Bolangir-Bicchupalli new railway line, doubling of Barpali-Dungaripali and Bolangir-Deogaon road line along with electrification of 813-km of Jharsuguda-Vizinagaram and Sambalpur-Angul lines.
The Logistics Park (MMLP) at Jharsuguda is built at a cost of Rs 100 crore. It will facilitate EXIM and domestic cargo, including Private Freight Traffic.
The Prime Minister also laid foundation stones for renovation and restoration works at Asurgarh Fort in Kalahandi.
He inaugurated a bridge between Therubali and Singapur Road station and Passport Sewa Kendras at six places –Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Kandhamal, Bargarh and Bolangir – through a video conferencing.
“With the inauguration of six new post office passport seva kendras, now the people of Odisha wouldn’t have to travel very far to get their passports,’’ he said.
He also laid the foundation stone for a permanent building at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sonepur.