BERHAMPUR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday inaugurated the long-awaited `431.3 crore Janibili-Berhampur mega water supply project at Jagadalpur on the outskirts of the city.
Later, addressing a gathering at Ankuspur, Naveen said the project will go a long way in solving the drinking water problems of Berhampur and also supply water to 52 villages in Aska, Hinjili, Seragada and Kukudakhandi blocks of Ganjam district. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Ministers Pradeep Panigrahi, Usha Devi, Bikram Keshari Arukh and Pushpendra Singhdeo.
During his one-day tour of the district, the Chief Minister also inaugurated a high titanium slag plant of Saraf Agencies Private Limited built at a cost of `350 crore and a ferrochrome plant of Tata Steel worth `541 crore at Chhatrapur.
The 55,000 tonne per annum (TPA) ferrochrome plant set up in Gopalpur Industrial Park is environment-friendly with state-of-the-art pollution control equipment and boasts of technology like effluent treatment plant (ETP) and sewage treatment plant (STP). It has 100 per cent water harvesting facility that caters to most of the water needs of the plant. It is also the first plant in India to use briquette method of chrome ore fines agglomeration.
The function was attended by Managing Director, Tata Steel, TV Narendran; vice-president Project Gopalpur and MD, Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Ltd, Arun Mishra; Chhatrapur MLA Priyanshu Pradhan; VP, raw material, Tata Steel, Rajeev Singhal and EIC, Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division DB Sundara Raman. Earlier in the day, Naveen also laid foundation stone for expansion of Rangeilunda airstrip, Rangeilunda-Alipur-Ratanpur-Haladiapadar ring road, rock garden at a cost of `13.29 crore at Ambapua and eco-retreat hub at Gopalpur.
The new administrative building of BDA at a cost of `400 lakh and Biju Patnaik Sanskruti Bhawan built at a cost of `500 lakh were also inaugurated by the Chief Minister. Among others, MPs Siddhant Mohapatra, Ladu Kishore Swain and most of the MLAs of the district and BJD leaders were present.