Naveen inaugurates irrigation projects worth Rs 1,508 crore in Droupadi Murmu’s home district
By Sukant Mohanty
Bhubaneswar, Aug. 13 : Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday inaugurated two irrigation projects worth Rs 1,508 crore in Mayurbhanj district, which will provide irrigation facilities to more than 27,000 hectares of land, benefiting more than 2.5 lakh farmers.
Mr Patnaik visited the district for the first time following Droupadi Murmu’s swearing-in as 15th President of India.
Ms Murmu is a native of the tribal district of Odisha.
According to insiders in the Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the CM’s visit to Mayurbhanj would foil the BJP’s move to showcase Droupadi Murmu’s election as the President as its commitment towards socio-economic and political empowerment of the tribals.
“The BJP has been trying to hard-sell Droupadi Murmu’s election to woo the tribal voters of the state. But our CM will never allow them to achieve their goal as he has etched a special place in their hearts due to his persistent efforts for their wellbeing,” said a senior BJD leader.
Odisha has nearly one crore tribal population. The tribals constitute 22.85 per cent of the state’s 4.19 crore population.
Both the ruling BJD and BJP are trying to share credit for the election of Droupadi Murmu as the President of India.
CM Naveen Patnaik claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had consulted him with regard to the nomination of Droupadi Murmu as the presidential candidate.
Attending a programme organised at Tikpada in Rasgovindpur block, CM Mr Patnaik inaugurated Deo and Subarnarekha irrigation projects and laid foundation stones for several developmental works in the district.
According to officials, the Subarnarekha project will provide irrigation facilities to 17,121 hectares of agricultural land in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts. Over 55,000 farmers of both the districts will benefit from the project, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 685 crore.
The target is to provide irrigation facilities to 70,000 hectares of land through the project, they said.
Similarly, about 10,000 hectares of land in Mayurbhanj will be irrigated through the Deo project. It will benefit 2 lakh people of 100 villages of the tribal district.
Under the project, a dam of 1,280 meters in length has been constructed on Deo river at Hatibari of Karanjia block at a cost of Rs 823 crore.
Highlighting his state government’s developmental programmes on agriculture, education and health, the CM said that all such programmes have empowered the people.
