Berhampur: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dedicated the 684.76 metre long Railway Over Bridge (ROB) from Engineering School to Lanjipalli in Berhampur to public through video-conferencing amid BJP protest.
The chief minister said the ROB would fulfill the aspirations of the people for a hassle-free communication. Built at a cost of Rs 27 crore, the project was started on July 7, 2015 and completed on July 30, 2020, according to Executive Engineer R&B, Ganjam Division number II.
Speaker of Odisha Assembly Surjya Narayan Patra was scheduled to attend the inauguration but did not come as some staff of his office tested COVID-19 positive. The Speaker is now under home isolation.
Meanwhile, the BJP has opposed the ROB alleging a number of technical defects in its construction. The side road is very narrow as land acquisition has not been completed and the incomplete drain would be a death trap for the public, said Siba Shankar Naik, a local leader of the party.
The local BJP leaders had urged district collector Ganjam Vijay Amrit Kulange and senior engineers of the R&B not to inaugurate the ROB in a hurry when they had come for field inspection. The party workers also staged a demonstration on the ROB on Saturday before the inauguration.
The chief minister also laid the foundation stone for a cooperative ginning mill at Digapahandi through video conferencing. The mill would provide jobs to 100 skilled and unskilled workers besides helping cotton growers of the adjoining six blocks, he said.
