By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:Odisha was formed as the first linguistic state on April 1, 1936. In 2036, we will celebrate the centenary of the formation of Odisha. During this period, the dream of ‘Developed India’ and ‘Developed Odisha’ will come true when our Odia children are healthy and get good education. We all have a responsibility to achieve this goal, said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan while participating in a program organized in Athmallik, a day before ‘Utkal Day’.
Shri Pradhan on Tuesday laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the people of various public welfare projects worth over Rs 204.32 crore for the overall development of Athamallik. On this occasion, Shri Pradhan said that the path of progress of the region will be widened by the mantra of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. He further said that Athamallik is a region of immense potential. The double engine government has set a target of constructing hundreds of new pucca houses under the Awas Yojana to help the poor and middle class families of this place. For this, the District Collector has been directed to prepare a modern housing project, so that the poor and middle class people of the region can benefit. Similarly, by further strengthening the social security system and providing allowances to new beneficiaries, our government is continuously working towards fulfilling the goal of ‘Antyoday’.
As a major agricultural region, Athmallik is a major producer of fruits like almonds, pulses, vegetables and mangoes, bananas, litchis and lemons. The District Collector and the local administration have been instructed to create a commercial infrastructure for the proper sale of these agricultural products. The Government of India has provided crores of rupees in grants for the development of Satkoshia. An important meeting will be held in the presence of the District Collector in April next year to address the problems and concerns of the people living in the Satkoshia Tiger Project area, where the grievances of the locals will be heard and solutions will be found to speed up the development process.
Special steps are being taken to protect art and culture along with the provision of central school facilities in this area. Apart from this, the ‘Subhadra’ scheme is aimed at making women self-reliant and creating a suitable market for their produce for their economic development. It has been promised that the various problems and demands of the people will be resolved through the local Vidyalaya, Tehsildar and Sub-Collector. In the coming days, the infrastructure of this area will be further strengthened, which will create new employment opportunities for the local people and lead to economic growth of the area, Shri Pradhan asserted.
It is noteworthy that today the Union Minister laid the foundation stone and dedicated 91 projects worth a total of Rs 204.32 crore for the overall development of the Sri Pradhan region. Out of this, the foundation stone of 62 projects worth Rs 183.85 crore was laid and 29 projects worth Rs 20.47 crore were dedicated. These projects under the Public Works Department, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Health Departments will strengthen the infrastructure of the eight-acre region in the coming days and bring a major change in the lifestyle of the people.
During this visit, Shri Pradhan visited the Shri Raghunath Temple at Athamallik and the Shri Ram Temple at Aida Olathe.
