Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday attended the platinum jubilee celebrations of Vikram Deb Autonomous College at Jeypore, a day after it was accorded university status, and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth Rs 1,600 crore for the district.
He told the gathering that Koraput occupies a special place in his heart. “Vikram Deb College is a premier institution of the state and it gives me immense pleasure to declare it as a university,” the chief minister said. “A modern auditorium with seating capacity of 1,000 will be constructed for this glorious institution at Rs 8 crore. The work will begin soon,” he added.
While saying that education increases one’s potential, Naveen said that he has complete faith in the youths of the state. “Read well and keep connected with society. Try to fulfil the dreams of yours, your family and of the state,” he said.
He laid the foundation stone of various infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, drinking water and electrification, and inaugurated projects worth Rs 210 crore.
“Infrastructure is the foundation of development of any region. Development of Koraput is envisaged by strengthening its infrastructure,” said Naveen.
Shifting his focus to self-help groups (SHGs), he said that his government has started working on a mission to see the SHGs as a micro and medium enterprise and for this interest-free loan of Rs 5 lakh is being given to each group in the state.In the next five years, Rs 50,000 crore will be disbursed among the SHGs of the state.
