Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for projects worth over 68 thousand crore rupees in Sambalpur, Odisha, today. Mr Modi unveiled several power, roads, and railways infrastructure projects, including inaugurating the 402-crore rupees permanent campus of IIM, Sambalpur. Mr Modi also flagged off the Puri-Sonepur-Puri weekly express train, which will improve connectivity between the coastal and western Odisha regions, and dedicated the Jharsuguda Head Post Office Heritage Building to the nation.
The Prime Minister inaugurated the Dhamra – Angul Pipeline Section of the Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline Project, and laid the foundation stone of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation’s Talabira Thermal power project worth more than 27 thousand crore rupees through video conferencing. He also inaugurated three National Highways road sector projects, developed at about 2110 crore rupees. Besides, Mr Modi laid the foundation for railway projects worth 2146 crore rupees. He also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Sambalpur Railway Station. He dedicated the Sambalpur- Talcher 168-kilometre Doubling Railway Line and Jhartarbha to the Sonepur New Railway line.
Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnav were present.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that today is a significant occasion for the development journey of Odisha as development projects have been launched in the sectors of education, railway, roads, electricity and petroleum. Mr Modi underlined that the people of Odisha belonging to the poor section, labourers, working class, business owners and farmers among all other sections of society will reap the benefits of today’s development projects. He further added that it will also create thousands of new employment opportunities for the youth of Odisha.
The Prime Minister said that in order to make Odisha a hub of education and skill development, continuous efforts have been put in by the Central government. The fate of Odisha’s youth has changed with the setting up of modern educational institutes like IISER Berhampur and Bhubaneshwar’s Institute of Chemical Technology in the last decade. Now, with the establishment of IIM Sambalpur as a modern institute of management, the state’s role is being further strengthened. He recalled laying the foundation stone of IIM (Indian Institute of Management) during the pandemic and praised those associated with its completion amidst all the obstacles.
