BJD govt neglected Bolangir: CM

Bhubaneswar : Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated and laid foundation stone of several development projects worth Rs 890 crore in Bolangir district on Saturday.

Among the projects inaugurated by Majhi included a Sub-Divisional Hospital (SDH) and a dialysis centre at Patnagarh and Titlagarh. He also laid the foundation stone of a bypass road for Patnagarh town. The Chief Minister also launched three mega and mini water supply projects in Patnagarh and Belpada. He also inaugurated the newly built power house at Bolangir.

A new circuit house building constructed at a cost of Rs 8.78 crore at Bolangir was inaugurated by the Chief Minister during his visit. This apart, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the upgradation of Tusura airfield to 2B category to be taken up at a cost of over Rs 66 crore.

He also laid the foundation stone of Upper Lanth irrigation project in Belpada block of the district. The upper Lanth irrigation project is proposed across Lanth river, a tributary of Tel river. The project, after completion, will provide irrigation for 189.07 sq km area.

While addressing a public meeting at Belpada ground in Bolangir district, Majhi came down heavily on the previous BJD government over the Lower Suktel irrigation project, which he said was inaugurated “in a hurry”. He said the foundation stone of the project was laid in 1998 and it was inaugurated in 2024. The project is yet to be fully functional and as a result, farmers are not getting any benefit out of it, the Chief Minister said.

“Are the farmers getting irrigation for their farmland? Where the money was spent meant for the construction of the Lower Suktel irrigation project?” Majhi asked and alleged that the funds were spent on purchase of buildings, flats, farmhouses and ornaments. He alleged that Bolangir district has been neglected for the last 24 years during the BJD government.

He said though Bolangir gets less rainfall, still the previous government could not expand irrigation in this part of the State. Majhi said the district has less than 20 per cent irrigation facilities. The previous BJD government continuously neglected Bolangir during their tenure, Majhi alleged.

Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo, his MP wife Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling and district MLAs attended the Chief Minister’s programme.