Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite the process of the site clearance of Sri Jagannath Puri International Airport (SJIA) from the Ministry of Civil Aviation which is pending since September last year.
During his visit to the national capital, Patnaik met PM Modi on Thursday and discussed various issues of his state and discussed to expedite the process, according to the news agency ANI.
Besides this, he also requested PM Modi to extend the provision of five free connections in each gram panchayat for Bharat Net Phase II.
Patnaik apprised the Prime Minister of a detailed project report (DPR) which was prepared for extending Bharat Net from the gram panchayats to the villages and submitted to the Department of Telecommunication and no decision on the matter has been taken so far.
“Also the DPR for converting the Bharat Net linear network to an internet protocol multi-protocol label switching ring network and extending the same to districts and state capital, submitted by the state to the telecom department has been regretted,” he told PM Modi, as per an official statement by the Odisha government.
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He further discussed incomplete national highways in the state. “There are as many as eight national highway projects, as per annexure, that is yet to be completed though many have started in 2017 and 2018.”
The leader also sought the PM’s intervention in opening more bank branches in rural areas of the state.
However, Patnaik also ruled out the possibility of a ‘third front’ being formed to contest the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
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The Chief Minister, who is in Delhi, was answering queries from reporters about the possibility of a third front in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections amid efforts by some leaders to bring together opposition parties.
