KEONJHAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated Anandpur Barrage and laid foundation stones of several projects during his visit to Keonjhar district on Friday.
The 490 metre barrage over Baitarani river has been constructed at a cost of `475 crore and has the capacity to store 350 lakh cubic metre water. The Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone of the project in 2009.
The barrage will irrigate agriculture land in Hatadihi, Anandpur and Ghasipura blocks of Keonjhar and Oupada, Nilagiri, Bahanaga, Balasore Sadar, Remuna and Soro blocks of Balasore district. The project will irrigate a total of 60,000 hectare of agriculture land, informed Chief Construction Engineer of Anandpur barrage Bijay Kumar Mishra.
On the day, the Chief Minister inaugurated the platinum jubilee function of BN High School. Besides, he laid the foundation stone of a mega water projects for Anandpur and Hatadihi blocks estimated at `129 crore and `315 crore respectively.
Water Resources Minister Raghunandan Das, Skill Development and Technical Education Minister Premananda Nayak, former Minister Badrinarayan Patra, Keonjhar MP Chandrani Murmu, Anandpur MLA Bhagirathi Sethy, Patna MLA Jagannath Nayak, Champua MLA Minakshi Mahanta and Keonjhar Collector Ashis Thakrey were present during the inauguration of the barrage.
The district administration had put in place adequate security arrangements for the Chief Minister’s visit. Western range DIG Kabita Jalan and Keonjhar SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra were in charge of overall security.