Appealing to the people of the State to be aware of their responsibilities along with their rights under the democratic setup, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik underscored the need for development of rural and urban areas to achieve an inclusive growth.
“Development of poor, youth, women, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled castes, student and differently abled persons is required for an inclusive growth,” Naveen said after unfurling the National Flag here at the State-level parade on Thursday to mark the Independence Day. Stating that Odisha has around 50,000 villages and 100 towns where development work is important, he said improvement in infrastructure in rural areas will give a boost to agriculture and allied sectors.
The Chief Minister, who refrained from speaking on the achievements of his Government in view of the model code of conduct implemented for the ensuing urban polls, said, “Independence is all about responsibility and commitment. Our goal should be to make India stronger and Odisha prosperous.”
While the Independence Day celebration in the State’s major towns and cities was observed amid tight security, the Red rebels took liberty to unfurl black flags in some Left Wing Extremist (LEW) dominated areas in Malkangiri district. The NSS students of Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) of SOA University received the prize for standing first in the state-level parade of I-Day. The Chief Minister handed over the prize to the team.