Asserting that Kalahandi was the "transformation model" of Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday unveiled projects worth Rs 1,200 crore in the district.
Patnaik inaugurated projects worth Rs 300 crore, which included the Saheed Rendo Majhi Medical College and Hospital and an affordable bus service that will connect the villages to block headquarters. He also laid the foundation stones for projects worth Rs 900 crore.
"Kalahandi is our model. From education, health, communication and industry to agriculture, all the sectors have seen positive development, fulfilling the dreams of the people. Kalahandi has changed its history, and added new success stories. Kalahandi is providing rice to the whole country today," the chief minister said.
He said that in Kalahandi, 63 buses will run under under the Location Accessible Multimodal Initiative (LAccMI), connecting villages to the block headquarters.
Patnaik took a bus ride to Balrampur from the meeting venue in the Kalahandi University campus.
He said that altogether 1,000 buses will be run in the state under the scheme, which has been allocated a budget of Rs 3,178 crore.
The chief minister also renamed Kalahandi University as Ma Manikeshwari University. The Manikeswari temple near district headquarters Bhawanipatna is a revered site in Hinduism.
Patnaik said the projects he unveiled will further develop Kalahandi.
Transport Minister Tunuki Sahoo narrated how the BJD government transformed poverty-stricken Kahanadi into the third largest rice-producing district in India.
The Indravati project ensured irrigation in Kalahandi, she pointed out.
The chief minister along with Union MoS for Health SP Baghel also formally inaugurated the Saheed Rendo Majhi Medical College and Hospital (MCH), in the presence of state Health Minister Niranjan Pujari and Kalahandi MP Basanta Panda.
Spread over 43 acres, the health facility has been built at an investment of Rs 531 crore. Twenty-two departments are functioning at present with a strength of 49 teaching staff and 38 senior residents, an official said.
The first batch of 100 MBBS students were also present at the function.
