Sambalpur, Nov 22: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated a slew of projects here today.
Over 100 BJP and Congress workers were taken into preventive custody before Naveen's visit. Cops arrested the activists apprehending agitations during the chief minister's visit. Senior BJP leader and former minister, Jayanarayana Mishra, was among those taken into custody.
Naveen inaugurated eight developmental projects and laid foundation stones for 14 other projects in Sambalpur today. The chief minister also addressed a women's convention at Rengali.
"The BJP and Congress workers, who were taken into preventive custody, were later released on a personal recognisance (PR) bond," said a police officer.
The district unit president of BJP, Ramachandra Meher, said: "The arrest is a clear indication of the failure of the Naveen government. They are scared to face the wrath of the people for their failure on numerous fronts."
Around 86 activists of opposition parties were also taken into preventive custody in Kuchinda, where Naveen inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 17 projects.
In Sambalpur, the chief minister made the modern bus terminus operational. The terminus has been built on an area of 5.26 acres at Ainthapali, along the National Highway-6. Earlier, a private bus stand was operational on the land. The commuters were getting harassed because of the absence of required facilities. The work on the new terminus began after the old bus terminus was shifted to a new location in January 2014. Bhushan Power and Steel Limited, Thelkuli, were entrusted with the responsibility to develop the terminus.
Parking facilities for buses and autorickshaws, multipurpose booking counters, administrative building, kiosks, food courts, solar light arrangements and many other amenities have been made available to passengers at the modern bus terminus. Out of the 21,375sqmt area, 6412.20sqmt have been reserved for parking buses and 1099.31sqmt for the parking of autorickshaws and cabs. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 16 crore.
"The firm, which has been selected to run and manage the terminus, will begin its operation shortly," said Bimalendu Rai, the Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) commissioner.
The chief minister also inaugurated postgraduate and undergraduate gents hostels at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at Burla, an office of the deputy inspector general of police, a kalyan mandap at Baijamunda along with a basic training institute of the armed police at Burla.
Naveen also laid the foundation stone for a new office building of the SMC and Sambalpur Development Authority, a district education office building, the construction of a 300-bed boys and girl hostel at Gangadhar Meher College and the construction of a girls hostel for Sambalpur Women's College. Naveen also flagged off the Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra train from Sambalpur railway station.
