BERHAMPUR/BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday hailed the cooperation of Ganjam residents in containing the spread of Covid-19 and appreciated the service of doctors and paramedics as well as the hard work of the district administration in achieving this difficult feat.
Inaugurating a rail over bridge (ROB) at Berhampur and laying the foundation stone for cooperative ginning mill at Digapahandi through video-conferencing, Naveen said Ganjam is slowly returning to normalcy but the danger is not yet over. He appealed to people to remain alert and follow Covid guidelines religiously till the coronavirus war is over.
The Chief Minister also appreciated the contribution of Covid Warriors and panchayat representatives in managing the Ganjam situation. Stating that Berhampur deserves a special focus of the Government as an important commercial, health and higher education hub of Southern Odisha, he said a lot of initiatives are being chalked out to transform Berhampur into a modern city.
The new ROB, constructed at a cost of Rs 27 crore, will provide hassle-free communication to people. The Chief Minister further said the cooperative ginning mill at Digapahandi will provide jobs to 100 skilled and unskilled workers besides helping cotton growers of the nearby six blocks.
The ROB from Lanjipali to Engineering School in Berhampur was started in 2015 and completed as per schedule. It will benefit more than 40,000 people in the city.
The ginning mill is first of its kind in the cooperative sector and will be set up in PPP mode with total investment of Rs 2.1 crore. The unit will have a capacity to produce 50 quintal lint cotton per day. The cotton producing areas of Digapahandi, Sanekhmundi, Dharakote, Sheragada, Patrapur, Jagannathprasad and Bhanjanagar blocks of Ganjam district will be benefitted by it.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha and Minister for Steel and Mines Prafulla Mallick hailed the steps taken up by the Chief Minister to start economic activity even during the pandemic. Berhampur MP Chandrasekhar Sahu, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy and senior officials were present.
On the other hand, over 30 BJP workers staged dharna at the project site in Berhampur alleging that the approach road for the ROB is incomplete.
They also claimed that the size of the road on Lanjipali side is around 62.20 metre against the actual plan of 73.80 metre. They said since the land which was to be acquired for the project belonged to influential persons, the approach road was narrowed down by 11 metres.
The BJP workers further alleged that due to the narrow approach roads, the existing ROB at Haladiapadar often witnessed accidents. The Lanjipali ROB too would face similar situation, they added.