BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to woo the tribals ahead of the upcoming polls, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday inaugurated upgraded infrastructure of 3000 ‘sacred groves’ and 400 tribal cultural clubs in nine districts through video conferencing from the State Secretariat here.
The Chief Minister felicitated tribal artists from the districts on the occasion. He also dedicated new facilities for tribals completed by the Special Tribal Development Councils in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts.
Praising the performance of the tribal development councils in these districts, Naveen said, “It is our duty to preserve the tribal arts and culture.” At least 25,000 tribal artistes have been provided with artisan cards, he said.
The State Government had constituted special development councils in the nine districts in March 2018 where projects are being implemented to preserve and conserve culture and traditions of 62 categories of tribals including those belonging to particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG).
The councils provide musical instruments for cultural clubs, dance costumes to dance troupes and sports kits. The councils also work for setting up tribal museums to preserve tribal art and culture.
He spoke to tribal artistes through video conferencing and also released three books, ‘Demographic Profile of Scheduled Tribes in Odisha’, ‘Odisha State Tribal Museum’ and ‘Special Development Council’. At Malkangiri, a tribal youth Nilakantha Kope thanked Naveen for facilitating an exposure visit to various parts of the State for the district’s Special Tribal Development Council.
In Rayagada, the Chief Minister inaugurated 94 sacred groves, three tribal cultural hubs, 12 weekly haats. Minister for Planning and Coordination Usha Devi, Minister for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Ramesh Majhi, advisor on art and culture to Odisha government R Balakrishnan and senior officials were present.
BASUDHA project for parched Bargarh
BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched the 19.5 million litres capacity drinking water project for Bargarh municipality which will serve the requirement of the urban centre for the next 15 years. The “Augmentation of Water Supply to Bargarh Municipality” project inaugurated by Naveen through video conference at the State Secretariat here will benefit 1.1 lakh people of the town.
The State Government has invested Rs 37.23 crore in the project which comes under its Buxi Jagabandhu Assured Drinking Water to All Habitation (BASUDHA) scheme. Water for the project has been brought from the west canal of Bargarh. The project consists of a 15 MLD water treatment plant, 12.80 km water pipeline, 67.44 km distribution system, four elevated service reservoirs having a capacity of 4.15 million litres and four ground level service reservoirs having a capacity of 1.85 million litres. Bargarh town gets a supply of 4.5 million litres water as against a requirement of 14.82 million litres.
PROJECTS AT A GLANCE
Naveen to attend Mission Shakti conclave
RAYAGADA: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will attend the Mission Shakti conclave at Rayagada on Wednesday He will inaugurate 41 projects that have been completed at the cost of Rs 204.84 crore and lay the foundation stone for 49 projects in the district. Police have made elaborate security arrangements. A gathering of a lakh people is expected at the conclave which will be held at Khaliguda village near Rayagada town.