Keonjhar: After taking charge as the Union Minister of Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan has proposed a second steel plant in Odisha.
The demand for establishing the steel plant in their respective areas gathered momentum in various regions, after the Union Minister made the announcement. Many local organisations have started putting up demands before the government through local administrations regarding this.
The District Journalists’ Association of Keonjhar has demanded the establishment of the proposed steel plant in a deserted tea garden at Taramakanta in Banspal block of the district. The association said it would be an ideal site for the steel plant.
In 1982, a tea plantation was started at Taramakanta as a joint venture between IPICOL of the Government of Odisha and Kolkata-based industrialist, Basant Kumar Dubey. Now the area is lying unused from 2011.
The tea garden at Taramakanta covered around 896.54 hectares. This tea garden is situated at an altitude of about 1,800-2,200 feet and the Baitarani River and two of its tributaries are flowing near the garden.
The Ranima canal is also located here and the popular Khandadhar fall in the region possesses high quality iron mines, which had attracted steel giants like POSCO and ArcelorMittal.
In addition to these, there are lots of government as well as private lands near the tea garden at Taramakanta, which will be ideal for the steel plant.
The area is just 50 km away from district headquarters which may not be a hindrance for road communication. As Banspal block is a backward area and as unemployment is a major problem here, the establishment of a steel plant at Taramakanta would contribute towards development of the district.
PNN
