Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to visit home turf Ganjam today, first since Covid outbreak

BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will begin the visit to his home turf Ganjam on Sunday, the first since Covid-19 broke out, with a temple trip followed by several programmes like distribution of smart cards under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) and launch of development projects.
Naveen will first visit the Maa Tara Tarini temple, the presiding deity of Ganjam at Purushottampur.The temple is being renovated with a special grant from the state governent. The temple will be opened to the devotees from Monday.
The chief minister would then launch the distribution of smart cards under BSKY at Purushottampur and digitally inaugurate and lay foundation stone of development projects worth Rs 2,200 crore. "Detailed arrangements have been made for the chief minister's programme by adhering to Covid-19 protocols," Ganjam collector Vijay Amruta Kulange told TOI.
As promised to the members of panchayati raj institutions their good work in containing Covid-19 in the district during the first wave, the chief minister would serve them prasad at the Tara Tarini temple. Around 1,000 panchayat members will join the programme, official sources said. During the two-hour trip, the CM will visit his Hinjili assembly constituency where he is scheduled to pay floral tribute to the statue of Biju Patnaik and disburse bank credit of over Rs 100 crore to women self-help groups (SHGs) under Mission Shakti.
Naveen would also flag off the Ganjam Darshan Bus, an initiative of the district administration to connect all tourist places in one day. The 14-hour trip will include around five hours of travel time, around 6.30 hours of sightseeing and another 2.30 hours for breakfast, lunch and high tea for the tourists, sources said.
He would also launch battery-operated vehicles provided to SHGs for sanitation-related works. As the state government has been banking heavily on the school transformation programme under 5T initiative under which over 1,000 high schools, including 50 in Hinjili constituency, were upgraded, Naveen will visit the smart classrooms, modern laboratory and e-library at Brundaban Vidyapitha in Hinjili.
Elaborate security arrangements are in place to ensure smooth visit of the chief minister to his home turf, also known to be a stronghold of the ruling BJD. Several senior BJD MLAs, including ministers, have already arrived in Ganjam ahead of Naveen's visit. On the eve of Naveen's visit, artist Satya Moharana, 40, crafted a portrait of the chief minister on sand at Nilakanth Nagar, Bijipur, and wrote a welcome note on the installation.
(Inputs from Hrusikesh Mohanty in Berhampur)