Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu Saturday laid the foundation stone for six projects, including three new railway lines in North Odisha on which around Rs 6,400 crore will be spent. The new line projects on Badampahar-Kendujhargarh, Bangiriposi-Gorumahisani, and Buramara-Chakulia routes were highlights of the day's programme at Bangiriposi in Mayurbhanj district.
The other three projects will come up at Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj district. These are the Tribal Research and Development Centre, Dandbose airstrip, and a 100-bed hospital at Rairangpur sub-divisional hospital. The President expressed confidence that the rail projects and airport would boost transportation, commerce, and business in the region. The new hospital building will provide better health facilities to locals, she added.
"Odisha is benefiting from the Centre's Purvodaya vision. The development of the entire region is being accelerated through various welfare schemes, including education, skill development, health, tourism connectivity, and transportation facilities," said the President. She said more than 100 new Eklavya Model Residential Schools are being established in Odisha, including 23 schools in Mayurbhanj district. She expressed confidence that after receiving education from those schools, tribal children would be able to contribute quality work to the progress of society and the country, she added.
Chief minister Mohan Majhi said new avenues of development will open in tribal and mining areas like Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar through these projects. The Centre has planned new railway projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore for the development of railway infrastructure in Odisha. Prime Minister Modi approved Rs 73,723 crore for railway development in Odisha, he added. "By 2036, the formation of a prosperous Odisha and by 2047, the development of Odisha as a leading state in a developed India will definitely be achieved," said Majhi.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is also Union information and broadcasting minister, said news in the Santali language will be broadcast in Doordarshan within a week. "After Modi became PM for the third term, he sanctioned most of the railway projects for tribal-dominated districts. It indicates that the BJP-led govt has given importance to tribals," he added.
Vaishnaw said Badampahar-Kendujhargarh new line will connect Keonjhar district with Mayurbhanj district. This 82-km new line will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 2,107 crore. It will create a north and north-east rail corridor in the state, he added. He said the Bangiriposi-Gorumahisani new line project is a very important project to connect Odisha's northern part with Jharkhand. This 86 km new line project will be developed at an expenditure of Rs 2,549 crore, he added. He said the Buramara-Chakulia new line project will be built at an expenditure of Rs 1,639 crore. This 60-km rail line will connect the north-eastern part of Odisha with the Howrah-Mumbai main line, he added.
Among others, Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, MPs, MLAs, and other elected representatives were present at the foundation stone laying ceremony. The President met locals before returning to Delhi Saturday.