Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janta Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Sunday launched the party’s month-long state-wide ‘Jan Sampark Padyatra’ emphasising the need to serve the people sincerely and sensitise them about various welfare schemes of the government.
Naveen, who has described politics as just a medium to serve the people, kick-started the mass contact programme on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti near Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar calling upon BJD workers and leaders to work in tandem with all for the development of the state.
Asking party workers to make the state-wide programme a success, the BJD President also advised them to reach each household and ascertain their problems.
“The Chief Minister has stressed that BJD is with the people and working for the people,” senior leader and Science and Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda said. The month-long outreach programme aims at sensitising the people on various welfare and developmental programmes of the government, he added.
Stating that Naveen has been working for the development of the state and welfare of its people for the last 25 years with dedication, Panda said the party is also gearing up to make his dream a reality.
Speaking in the same vein, another senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra said the party has been working for the interests of Odisha. Now it has the responsibility of carrying forward its commitments towards the welfare of people, he said.
In the course of the yatra, BJD will also celebrate the birth anniversary of Utkalmani Gopbandhu Dash on October 9 and the birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan on October 11.
The padyatra is being organised right from the district level and will be held in every ward and panchayat throughout the state. The BJD supremo has asked all the functionaries of the party to actively participate in the programme and ensure the participation of a large number of people in the rallies and meetings.
Party workers and leaders are slated to approach every household and inform them about the development schemes and welfare programs of the BJD government, sources said.
The party will also conduct blood donation camps and plantation drives and others during the programme.
On the concluding day of the padyatra on November 2, the BJD leaders and workers are scheduled to take a pledge to devote their life to the overall development of the state and welfare of its people.