Panda wishes K’pada people on riverine port

Former Kendrapada MP Baijayant Panda has congratulated the people of Kendrapada district in the wake of the State Government deciding to set up a reverine port on the Mahanadi in the district’s Mahakalpada block.

“To push for setting up a riverine port on Mahanadi in Kendrapada district, I had met successive Chief Secretaries and other top officials in 2014 and 2016. On February 26, 2014, I had held discussions with the then Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, Commerce and Transport Secretary G Mathivathanan and Central Planning Commission Board member Gajendra Haldia about the riverine port project in PPP mode,” said the statement.

Panda said he had too pursued the matter with Chief Secretary AP Padhi on February 19, 2016. He said though the decision was delayed and taken only after his resignation, yet he welcomed it and termed it as the victory of common people.

“Someone in the State Government told me that they waited until my resignation as Kendrapada Lok Sabha MP to sanction this project. If he had told me earlier, I would have quit as MP sooner for Kendrapada’s development,” added Panda.