Kalahandi no longer land of hunger, now Odisha's rice bowl: Patnaik

Kalahandi districtis no longer the ''land of hunger'' and has been transformedinto Odisha's rice bowl, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik onThursday while launching projects worth over Rs 2,000 crore inthe district.

In his maiden visit to the district since the COVID-19outbreak, Patnaik inaugurated 54 projects worth Rs 1,064 croreand laid the foundation of 52 projects worth Rs 1,020 crore.

The Upper Indravati Lift Canal System, built at a costof Rs 986.71 crore, is among the projects that he inaugurated.

The system, comprising 43.26 km of concrete canals and 1,142km of underground pipelines, has the capacity to irrigate25,275 hectares of cropland.

Patnaik also inaugurated 10 drinking water projectsworth Rs 20.02 crore and 13 check dams built at a cost of Rs4.83 crore.

Addressing a public meeting attended by people whohave tested negative for COVID-19, Patnaik recalled his fatherand former chief minister Biju Patnaik's emotional attachmentwith Kalahandi.

''Biju Babu was injured in a stone-pelting incident inKalahandi during his visit as the chief minister in the 90s.

When I inquired about bleeding from his nose, he said therewas nothing to be worried about.

''He had said that the people of Kalahandi love him andhe reciprocates it and will work hard for the development ofthe district,'' the chief minister said.

From being the ''land of hunger'', Kalahandi has nowbeen transformed into the state's rice bowl. The district nowholds the second position in the state in rice production.

This has been possible only due to the hard work andcommitment of the farmers, Patnaik said.

Noting that the attempts of ''some people'' to keepKalahandi poverty-stricken have failed, Patnaik said thatfarmers in the district have received Rs 1,200 crore duringthe paddy procurement season last year and the irrigationpotential has increased three-fold while the fish productionhas also gone up significantly.

Observing that Kalahandi has emerged as the best-performing district in the country in health care, he saidthat infant and maternal mortality rates, which were 76 and432 in the year 2000, have drastically improved due tostrategic intervention of the state government.

Pointing out that the Indravati River has a major roleto play in Kalahandi's transformation, he announced that amuseum and a park, with a temple dedicated to GoddessIndravati, will be built on the banks of the river.

Kalahandi Lok Sabha MP and senior BJP leader BasantaPanda also addressed the meeting which was attended by thelocal MLAs, ministers and MPs of the western region of thestate. Attendees were allowed to enter the meeting premisesonly after the verification of their COVID status.

However, the Leader of Opposition P K Naik, who isalso the Bhawanipatna MLA, boycotted the chief minister'smeeting, protesting lavish expenditure at the governmentprogramme.