BHUBANESWAR: As the date for by-election to Balasore Sadar Assembly seat draws near, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday promised greater thrust by his government on development of the district and that he would personally monitor the works.Campaigning for the BJD candidate Swarup Kumar Das through video conference from here, the Chief Minister said, “Balasore has scope for more development and I want to take it to the next stage,” he said.
On the works undertaken by the government for the development of Balasore district, the Chief Minister said that the Fakir Mohan University and a new medical college and hospital have been established in the district. Stating that development work for slums in Balasore town has already been launched, Naveen said that the rural poor have been provided with land and pucca houses. Besides, irrigation facilities, rural roads, electricity and safe drinking water have also been provided, he said.
Naveen said he would have loved to physically visit Balasore constituency to meet the people, but it would have pushed them into the threat of Covid-19 which he never wanted. He promised to visit the district after the Covid-19 pandemic is over. Naveen said Balasore reminds him of the famous writer Fakir Mohan Senapati who is one of his favourites.
“I love his Rebati story the most,” he said, adding he is also reminded of two personalities, Biju Babu and APJ Abdul Kalam. “When Biju Babu was the Chief Minister in 1993, Prithvi missile was test-fired for the first time from Chandipur. Whenever missiles are test-fired from here, both the famous patriots are remembered,” he said.
Appealing to the people to vote in favour of the BJD candidate, he requested them to take all possible precautions against Covid-19 while going to polling booths. Meanwhile, the Congress and BJP have also stepped up campaigns for the bypoll. AICC secretary G Rudra Raju, senior Congress legislator Santosh Singh Saluja and former MLA Debasis Patnaik participated in a road show and cycle rally seeking votes for Congress candidate Mamata Kundu. The Congress leaders said that the party’s role in the development of Balasore is immense. The development work will continue further if people vote for the party candidate, they said.