Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Tuesday flagged off a special train from Bhubaneswar to Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, carrying around 1,000 people from the state’s Maoist-hit districts to participate in the 151st birth anniversary celebrations of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, observed as National Unity Day. The country celebrates National Unity Day October 31. Addressing the gathering, Majhi said 19 districts of the state were now completely free from the Naxal menace, paving the way for accelerated development activities without resistance.
Around 1,000 representatives from the 19 Naxal-free districts have embarked on the journey to Gujarat to represent Odisha at Ekta Nagar, symbolising peace, security and progress, he said. Majhi paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, crediting his leadership with uniting the country after Independence. “Through extraordinary leadership and firm resolve, Sardar Patel united more than 550 princely states, thereby forging the unified India we see today,” the chief minister said. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been observing Patel’s birth anniversary as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) every year since assuming office in 2014, as a tribute to the country’s first deputy prime minister.
Majhi expressed confidence that this year’s national-level Unity Parade would reflect the vision of a Naxal-free India. He also said that under the guidance of the prime minister, the leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the concerted efforts of security forces at the national and state levels, the country, including Odisha, had made significant progress in tackling the Naxal menace and was advancing rapidly on the path of development. “In Naxal-affected areas, top priority is being given to social and economic development alongside the construction of infrastructure.
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Specifically, in 10 affected districts of Odisha, various public welfare schemes are being delivered in an integrated manner to the actual beneficiaries through the ‘Gramodaya Plus’ initiative, enabling them to join the mainstream,” Majhi said. He said collective efforts were underway to realise the prime minister’s vision of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ (One India, Great India), with the participation of the country’s 1.4 billion people.
Meanwhile, Majhi announced that a new express train service between Puri and Badampahad in Mayurbhanj district will commence next month. The train is scheduled to be inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu during her visit to the state November 4 and 5, Majhi said, adding that the Centre has approved the operation of the new service. “This train is expected to further strengthen the communication system among the districts of Puri, Khordha, Kataka, Jajpur, Kendujhar and Mayurbhanj,” Majhi said while attending a function at Bhubaneswar railway station.