SAMBALPUR: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said he is committed to make Sambalpur a modern and clean city and efforts are on to achieve the objective.
Following a meeting with the district administration, Pradhan who is on a three-day visit to his constituency said, “Monsoon has begun and Sambalpur being situated on the bank of Mahanadi river faces issues relating to drainage, waterlogging and sanitation. I had a discussion with the SMC commissioner and district collector over monsoon preparedness.”
He said Sambalpur city had failed to attain the required level of cleanliness. “We discussed on how to keep the town clean can be expedited. The state government has recently invited a tender to prepare a master plan for the drainage system in Sambalpur. It will be prepared in the next two to three months. During this monsoon, many new problems will come to fore which may be included in the plan. We also laid thrust on clean drinking water, roads and street lights during the discussion. During election, we had promised to take responsibility to make Sambalpur a modern and clean city. We have already started working in that direction. We will fulfil the responsibility to augment citizen-centric facilities in the town.”
Pradhan also reviewed the jaundice situation and said he was informed that the disease spread during Sital Sasthi festival through contaminated food items sold in Kumbharpada and nearby areas. “The situation is under control but we still need to keep a strong vigil,” he said.
When asked about the NEET fiasco, the minister said, “For reformation of NTA and to make it more credible and advanced, an NTA reform panel has been formed under the leadership of former ISRO head K Radha Krishnan and former AIIMS director Randeep Guleria. The panel will submit its report in two months.”
Later, Pradhan proceeded to Kuchinda sub-division to address BJP workers at ‘Vijay Sambardhana Utsav’. Prior to that, Pradhan along with Panchayati Raj Minister, Rabi Narayan Naik held discussions with administrative officials of Kuchinda on drinking water, road, healthcare, education, forest, irrigation and farm produce related concerns in the sub-division besides preparation of a roadmap for development of Kuchinda.
Addressing the party workers, Pradhan said, “For the first time after Independence, a representative of Kuchinda has taken the responsibility of serving the people as Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water which is a matter of glory for the region. Kuchinda is an agriculture-dominant region. There is abundant land and water supply here. Varieties of paddy, vegetables and forest products are produced here. The red chillies produced here is in great demand. We need to take it to the global market. We will plan to create an agro-based cluster.”
He urged the party workers to work humbly and with dedication for the welfare of Kuchinda. “We have to safeguard the faith of people in our PM and BJP. The party is committed to all-round development of Kuchinda,” he added.