Sambalpur: Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Wednesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 50 developmental projects worth Rs 960 crore in Sambalpur, including the country’s 51st Doppler Weather Radar, during a visit to the western Odisha district.
At a grand function held at Gangadhar Meher University, the Chief Minister dedicated 15 completed projects valued at Rs 133.47 crore and laid the foundation for 35 new projects estimated at Rs 825.83 crore. The projects span health, rural development (including Rs 60.50 crore for Kuchinda), sports (Rs 74.72 crore), roads and buildings (Rs 585 crore), and water resources, featuring a Rs 220.56 crore mega lift irrigation scheme and Rs 8.88 crore minor irrigation works.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Majhi emphasized that Sambalpur serves as the cultural heart of western Odisha and plays a central role in the state’s vision of creating a “Prosperous Odisha 2036.” Paying homage to iconic regional figures, he noted that the newly launched initiatives span across critical sectors, including healthcare, sports (₹74.72 crore), rural development (₹60.50 crore for Kuchinda), roads and buildings (₹585 crore), as well as ₹220.56 crore dedicated to mega lift irrigation projects. These additions bring the total developmental outlay committed to Sambalpur between January and September 2026 to around ₹1,910 crore, which includes ongoing urban transformations like the “Drink from Tap” initiative under AMRUT 2.0, ring road expansions, and industrial investments from major corporations such as Hindalco and JSW-JFE Steel.
The Chief Minister further noted that in January this year he had launched projects worth Rs 948 crore along with 50 electric buses. An outlay of Rs 238.14 crore has been sanctioned for the Ainthapali bus terminal and its 10-year maintenance. The first state-level Chief Minister’s grievance hearing outside Bhubaneswar was also held in the city to make governance more people-centric, he added.
Emphasising women’s empowerment, he said schemes such as Subhadra, Chief Minister’s Kanya Bibaha and Kanya Sumangala are advancing women’s welfare, with 40 per cent of the state budget allocated for them.
Majhi credited the “double-engine” governments at the Centre and in the state for securing Rs 90,000 crore for railways, Rs 40,000 crore for roads, Rs 25,000 crore for ports and Rs 25,000 crore for shipbuilding projects for Odisha. In Sambalpur, a Rs 1,521 crore four-lane bypass, Rs 1,700 crore expansion of VIMSAR, a Rs 100 crore aqua park and the Rs 100 crore Samalei Phase-2 project are being accelerated.
He praised the Centre for honouring the three creators and artists of the song “Rangabati” with Padma Shri awards.
On the occasion of the Prime Minister’s 76th birthday and Vishwakarma Puja, the Chief Minister appealed to the public to join the month-long Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, “Ashirwad Ka Deep” and “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” programmes and to light lamps seeking the Prime Minister’s long and healthy life.
In a special media interaction, Majhi said the newly inaugurated Make-in-India Doppler Weather Radar at Sambalpur holds special regional significance and has brought a large part of Odisha under the weather forecasting network. It is the state’s third such radar after Paradip and Gopalpur. Operating round the clock, the radar can provide accurate data within a 250 km radius and track weather systems up to 450 km. It will benefit 13 districts—Sambalpur, Baragada, Jharsuguda, Sundaragada, Debagada, Sonpur, Balangir, Boudh, Nuapada, Anugola, Kalahandi, Kendujhar and Dhenkanal, along with parts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Early warnings of pre-monsoon thunderstorms, lightning and hail will particularly help farmers in Baragada, known as Odisha’s rice bowl, and across the Mahanadi basin. The radar will estimate rainfall every 10 minutes at 150-metre resolution, strengthening inflow management at the Hirakud reservoir, and will aid precautionary measures in power, industry, transport and grid operations.
Union Minister of Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh, who joined the ceremony virtually, hailed the installation as a major landmark for the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). He disclosed that the central government plans to set up 40 additional Doppler radars nationwide to achieve comprehensive weather coverage.
Chief Minister Majhi further announced that Odisha is establishing a technology-driven, proactive disaster management system, with steps already underway to install three more radars in Baleshwar, Bhubaneswar, and Puri.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari highlighted that the radar fulfils a long-standing regional demand, reinforcing the state’s commitment to a “Zero Casualty” policy during natural calamities. “The radar will enable farmers, the public and disaster response forces in the 13 western districts to receive precise information on lightning, heavy rain and storms well in advance. New radars at Baleshwar, Bhubaneswar and Puri will bring the entire state under a technology-based disaster management framework,” he added.
Rajya Sabha member Manmohan Samal, MLA Jayanarayana Mishra, IMD Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, and Sambalpur Collector Siddheshwar Baliram Bondar, were among others, present at the event.