Rourkela: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday inaugurated several projects during a whirlwind tour of Sundargarh district.

He also took part in four felicitation ceremonies organised by different religious minority groups.

Naveen inaugurated a drinking water modernisation project along with the 100-bed mother and child unit at Ispat General Hospital here. He also inaugurated an under construction e-library near the Uditnagar meeting hall and a statue of B.R. Ambekar.

The Rs 90-crore drinking water project will have equal investment from the Centre and the state and will be completed within 30 months. A private agency has already begun the survey.

The public health department's executive engineer Anup Patel said: "We are hopeful of completing the project in 18 months and it will smoothen drinking water supply and enhance the water storage capacity."

Two ground storage reservoirs will come up at Koelnagar and Panposh as part of the project alongside several overhead tanks at Bondamunda, Timber Colony and Gopabandhu Colony. During a brief interaction with reporters, Naveen said: "We will do everything possible for the state's development."

He also laid the foundation stones for a mini hockey stadium and an ITI for Kutra and Koira. At Kutra, Naveen was honoured by the Catholic Education Society of Sundargarh. He then flew back to Rourkela and took part in meetings organised by the Muslim community of Sundargarh and the city's Sikhs residents at Civic Centre, where members of the community honoured him. He was also felicitated by members of the Jain community.

Police had taken nearly 60 BJP and Congress leaders and workers into custody as a preventive measure prior to Naveen's visit.