Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who visited Baleswar on Monday, addressed a public gathering and attended several programmes including the launching of 108 Emergency Ambulance Service.
He inaugurated a complex made by pensioners at a cost of Rs24 lakh in the District Headquarters Hospital and laid the foundation-stone of a building meant for mother and child healthcare.
While addressing a gathering at the Reserve Ground after landing by a chopper from Baripada, Patnaik rolled out statistics of his Government’ successes.
Patnaik said his Government has launched a new scheme for SC and ST the girl students reading in Classes IX and X. Each student (day scholar) would get Rs3,200 per year while the hostel inmates would get Rs7,500. About 2.5 lakh students across the State would be covered under the scheme, which was launched from Baripada earlier on the day.
Health Minister Dr Rout said that about 400 doctors have been posted against the vacancies and efforts are on to increase the numbers of seats at the Brahmapur and Burla medical colleges.
The meeting looked like a ruling BJD programme before the Chief Minister’s arrival with several local party leaders addressing it. More than 100 people belonging to opposition Congress and BJP were taken into preventive custody before the CM’s arrival.
Meanwhile, District Congress Committee president Padmalochan Panda lodged a complaint in this regard with the Sahadevkhunta police. The Congress leaders stated the 108 Emergency Ambulance Service and the mother and child care unit are under the NRHM programme of the Central Government, but the Chief Minister is falsely claiming that these are State Government’s schemes.