NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched development projects worth over Rs 60,000 crore in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district, calling the state’s love for art and culture “world-famous.”Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and governor Hari Babu Kambhampati attended the event, where the Prime Minister was felicitated. Chief ministers of eight states, including UP’s Yogi Adityanath and Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, joined virtually.
The projects span railways, healthcare, telecom, higher education, rural housing and skill development. PM Modi commissioned over 97,500 4G mobile towers built with swadeshi technology, including more than 92,600 by BSNL. About 26,700 remote and border villages will gain coverage through 18,900 sites funded under Digital Bharat Nidhi.Railway projects included the Sambalpur-Sarla rail flyover and doubling of the Koraput-Baiguda and Manabar-Koraput-Gorapur lines. PM Modi also flagged off the Amrit Bharat Express between Berhampur and Udhna in Surat, boosting trade and tourism.PM Modi praised the nation’s telecom growth as well. “India’s companies have got India a position among the top 5 countries of the world that have indigenous technology to start 4G services… It is because of BSNL that India is moving towards becoming a global telecom manufacturing hub. Swadeshi 4G network begins today from here, as part of which, 1 lakh 4G mobile towers have been set up across the country… Border districts and far-fetched villages, where high-speed internet and connectivity were an issue, will greatly benefit from this… Our soldiers will also be able to use safe indigenous services for connectivity, ” the PM said.In healthcare, the foundation was laid for the upgradation of MKCG Medical College in Berhampur and VIMSAR in Sambalpur into super-speciality hospitals. PM Modi also expanded IITs to create 10,000 new student seats in four years.Odisha CM Majhi praised the PM for launching the Subhadra Yojana last year, which provides Rs 10,000 annually to over one crore women. Furthermore, PM Modi handed sanction orders to 50,000 beneficiaries of the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana, which supports vulnerable rural families with pucca houses.This was PM Modi’s sixth visit to Odisha in 15 months and his first to Jharsuguda in seven years.
