BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a host of projects besides dedicating the new campus of IIT Bhubaneswar to the nation during his one-day visit to the State on December 24.
He will lay the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Berhampur from the IIT campus. On the occasion of bicentenary celebration of the historic Paika Rebellion, the Prime Minister will also release commemorative coin of Rs 200, postage stamp and inaugurate a Chair at Utkal University in memory of Baxi Jagabandhu who led the country’s first independence movement.
Briefing the media on the PM’s visit jointly with Union Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi on Thursday, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said Modi will lay foundation stones for several infrastructure projects worth Rs 14,523 crore during his visit.
The new initiatives include Indian Oil Corporation’s gas pipeline from Paradip oil refinery to Hyderabad with an investment of Rs 3,800 crore and the Bokaro-Angul section of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project at an estimated cost of Rs 3,437 crore. “These investments will consolidate on previous initiatives of the Central Government in line with the PM’s vision of Purbodaya,” he said.
Coming to the State after a gap of three months, the Prime Minister is scheduled to lay the foundations of six-laning of two National Highway projects with an investment of Rs 2,100 crore and expansion (four-laning) of Cuttack-Angul section of NH-42 with financial involvement of Rs 2000 crore, Pradhan said.
He will also dedicate 50 additional beds of ESI Hospital in the city to people. Apart from increasing the capacity for indoor patients to 100 bed, the hospital has been modernised with improved health care facilities with an investment of Rs 73.5 crore.
Expressing his gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Union Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma for their initiatives to preserve and promote the vibrant culture and rich history of Odisha, Pradhan said, “An archaeological museum at Lalitgiri, which provides evidence of the 2000-year-old early Buddhist settlements in the region, will also be inaugurated by Modi.”
Noting that Odisha was one of the focal points for spread of Buddhism, he said the Buddhist sites of the State will be developed into high-tech tourist spots which will not only attract huge volume of tourists but also keep the memories of the State’s rich history, traditions and sacrifices of great men and women alive in the minds of future generations. The Prime Minister will address a public meeting after near Jatni in Khurda district after launching these projects.