Padampur To Become District Within A Year: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik

Padampur: Asserting that his government is taking all steps to fulfill the promises made to the people, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced that Padampur in Bargarh will get the status of a district within a year.

Addressing a meeting at Jharbandh during his visit to Bargarh, the Chief Minister said that necessary measures are being taken to ensure that Padampur is accorded district status within a year. Padampur MLA Barsha Singh Bariha was present at the meeting.

Locals of Padampur in Bargarh have been demanding special district status for several years. The demand for separate district had gained momentum during campaign for the by-election to Padampur Assembly constituency in December last year.

During electioneering for the bypoll, Naveen had promised that the demand to make Padampur sub-division a district will be fulfilled in 2023.

“You want Padampur to become a district and your dream will be fulfilled in 2023,” the CM had said while addressing meetings in the run up to the by-election.

Recalling hsi words, Naveen said the state government is leaving no stone unturned to keep the promises he had made to the people ahead of the bypoll in December last year.

While Paikmal PHC has already been given the status of a Community Health Centre (CHC), work has already been launched for implementation of a major irrigation project in the area, the Chief Minister said.

Similarly, quick steps are being taken for installation of an electricity sub-station in the area to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people, he said. “I don’t believe in words. I believe in action,” the CM said.

The government has also sanctioned projects worth at least Rs 1 crore to each of the 60-odd panchayats, keeping with its prepoll promise.

Taking a dig at Union Ministers without naming them, the Chief Minister said many central Ministers visited Padampur before the by-election and made a number of promises to the people. However, no step has so far been taken to keep these promises, he alleged, and sought to know as to what has happened to the railway Bargarh-Nuapada railway line via Padampur.

Hitting out at the Centre over crop insurance claims of farmers, he said no step has been taken to withdraw or slash the whopping 18 per cent GST imposed on kendu leaf trade. Kendu leaf plucking is a major economic activity for the landless and the poorerst of the poor in Padampur in the western district of Bargarh.

During his one-day visit, the CM is slated to inaugurate projects related to farmers’ welfare, drinking water and infrastructure at Padampur and Paikmal besides Jharbandh.

Naveen is also scheduled to hand over cheques of interest-free loans to women self-help groups under Mission Shakti.