Upcoming Nagarnar plant will transform Bastar, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi exuded confidence on Thursday that upcoming Nagarnar integrated steel plant near Jagdalpur would transform poverty-hit Bastar region, similar in line of Bhilai Steel Plant that unlocked development in vast areas when it was dedicated to nation decades ago.

Modi made the remark about the NMDC Ltd’s upcoming Nagarnar plant while addressing a jam-packed public meeting at steel city Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. The public sector NMDC Ltd is expected to commission its three million tonne per annum (MTPA) Nagarnar steel plant by October this year.

Prime Minister later visited Blast Furnace-8 at the Bhilai Steel Plant, and was briefed on various aspects of the Plant. People lined in the streets of Bhilai to greet the Prime Minister. At a large public meeting, the Prime Minister dedicated the modernised and expanded Bhilai Steel Plant, to the nation.

Modi said at the rally in presence of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh that the Bhilai Steel Plant has contributed in a big way to nation-building and added that the modernised and expanded plant would be instrumental in building a strong foundation for New India.

Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said in his brief speech that four years back the steel industry was going through a tough time, but today India is the second largest steel producer by overtaking United States and Japan. He informed that Bhilai Steel Plant, the flagship unit of the public sector steel giant SAIL, is today producing 130-metre long single piece rail track which is the longest in the world.