Preparations for CM Naveen Patnaik's Steel City visit in full swing

ROURKELA: The ruling Biju Janata Dal is leaving no stone unturned to make Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s visit to the Steel City on February 16 a grand success. Several ministers including Samir Das, Tusharkanti Behera and Sudam Marndi reached Sundargarh district on Saturday to oversee the preparation.

The significance of the Chief Minister’s visit to the district can be gauged from the fact that each block of the district is being looked after by a minister while the district administration is busy preparing the venue on the campus of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) where the Chief Minister would lay the foundation for India’s largest hockey stadium equipped with world-class facilities.

The stadium will be used as the second venue for Men’s Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held in January 2023.

Along with the hockey stadium, the Chief Minister would also lay the foundation of several other projects and inaugurate completed ones worth around Rs 4,800 crore.

Rourkela MLA Sarada Prasad Nayak organised a meeting of various outfits at Green Palm here on the day. He slammed the BJP and Congress for opposing the Chief Minister’s visit and said the parties are jealous of the ruling party supremo’s massive popularity. 

Taking a dig at BJP, the legislator said the Chief Minister along with former Union Minister Jual Oram had laid the foundation of Jhirpani bridge in 2003.

But after the BJP came to power in 2014 at the Centre, it withdrew the grant of `4 crore for the project which was later completed by the State government. Similarly, the Centre withdrew assistance for Lalei bridge project in Bonai block and the State government stepped in.

“Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik believes in action,” he said, adding the State government has acquired 132 acre land at Riu in Kuanrmunda block for setting up of an industrial estate which once completed will benefit locals. 
 

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