The Hindu : 'Centre keen on developing Orissa's backward regions'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2003

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'Centre keen on developing Orissa's backward regions'

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHUBANESWAR JULY 15. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has said that the Centre is committed to the development of the backward Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region.

He was addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation for the Orissa branch of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. The Governor, M.M. Rajendran, and the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, were also present.

It started raining heavily soon after Mr. Vajpayee began his speech and the people had to stand in the downpour as the makeshift structure was not big enough to house the crowd.

Though he had come to Orissa after a long time, he had great love for the State, Mr. Vajpayee said. He said that the Government was committed to making the tribal-dominated KBK region a storehouse of foodgrains.

Mr. Vajpayee said Orissa had only 270 hospitals as against 2,100 in Kerala. "While Kerala had one hospital bed for every 330 people, Orissa had one per 3,000.'' While Karnataka had 30 medical colleges and Maharashtra had 36, Orissa had only three at present.

He urged the youth to face the challenges bravely to ensure the State's development and said the State Government should do its bit. He asked the administration officials to ensure completion of the ongoing projects and implementation of various welfare schemes.

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'Centre keen on developing Orissa's backward regions'