Bhubaneswar, Aug 15 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday turned his Independence Day address into an occasion to highlight his government’s performance.
After hoisting the tricolour at the Independence Day celebrations at Mahatma Gandhi Marg here, Patnaik said Odisha had a special place in the country for the initiatives his government had taken in different areas.
“The state economy has improved and the government has been implementing various welfare and development schemes from its funds,” Patnaik said.
The Biju Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) Yojana, rice schemes for the poor, free cycles to all girl students studying in Class 10, Biju Kandhamal and Gajapati Yojana, and Mamata Yojana were some of these, he said.
Patnaik said the government planned to dig one lakh bore-wells in the next three years to provide irrigation facility in about a million hectres in the state.
He said the government would also extend its flagship Mamata Yojana to urban areas.
The state-funded scheme aims at reducing maternal and infant mortality and is currently being implemented in rural areas.
