Modi on Odisha visit to launch projects worth over Rs 1500 cr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to launch a slew of central government projects worth over Rs 1,545 crore in Odisha during his upcoming visit to Balangir on January 15, officials said. Most of the projects to be unveiled by Modi at a function in the western Odisha town during his third visit to the state in as many weeks happens to be in the railway sector. The PM will dedicate to the nation a Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Jharsuguda, built at a cost of Rs 100 crore, which will facilitate EXIM and Domestic cargo including Private Freight Traffic (PFT), said Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of East Coast Railway (ECoR), J P Mishra.

Spread over an area of 28.3 acres, the MMLP is situated adjacent to the main Howrah-Mumbai line, which is 5 km from Jharsuguda Railway station. A number of industries such as cement, paper, aluminium, refractory, pig iron and sponge iron located in and around the catchment area will benefit from this facility, Mishra said. Modi will also inaugurate the Rs 115-crore Balangir-Bichhupali new railway line, a part of the new 289-km Balangir-Khurda road line, which connects to the Howrah-Chennai main line on Khurdha roadside and the Titlagarh-Sambalpur line at Balangir.

Once completed, the 15-km line would connect coastal Odisha with the western region through Sonepur, Boudh, Puranakatak, Daspalla and Nayagarh, synchronising development across the state and reducing travel time, the officials said. The line would also benefit many MSME and cottage industries and open up opportunities for the mining sector, especially granite, graphite, limestone and quartz, which are found abundantly in the region, they said. These apart, the prime minister will inaugurate electrification of 813 km of Jharsuguda-Vizinagaram and Sambalpur-Angul lines, completed at a cost of Rs 1,085 crore. The project will ensure seamless rail connectivity on the line and reduce running time, Mishra said. It will also bring down diesel consumption and lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Modi will launch renovation and restoration works at Nilamadhav and Siddheswar Temple at Gandhaharadi in Boudh, Ranipur Jharial group of monuments in Balangir and Paschim Somnath group of temples in Boudh, said Rajeev, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Bhubaneswar. In continuation of the centre's efforts at preserving the heritage of Odisha, the ASI had undertaken renovation and restoration works at Nilamadhav and Siddheswar Temple in Gandhaharadi, Boudh at a cost of Rs 61 lakh, he said. The PM will also inaugurate renovation and restoration works at Asurgarh Fort in Kalahandi, undertaken at a cost of Rs 2.2 crore, Dwivedi said.

Six new post office Passport Sewa Kendras at Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Phulbani, Bargarh and Balangir will be unveiled by Modi, Regional Passport Officer (RPO), Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra said. At present, people of the state have to go to RPO, Bhubaneswar for passport-related services, he added. The prime minister had launched Rs 14,523-crore worth of projects during his visit to Bhubaneswar and Khurdha on December 24, while on January 5, he unveiled projects to the tune of Rs 4,733 crore.