Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched the LaccMI (Location Accessible Multimodal Initiative) Bus Scheme or Laxmi bus yojana in Kalahandi district. Greeting the people of the district on the Kalahandi Foundation Day, the Chief Minister said that 63 buses will run under this scheme and they will operate in all panchayats of the district.
Inaugurating the scheme at the Kalahandi University campus, the Chief Minister said that the Laxmi bus scheme will bring happiness to homes and take the vehicle of development forward. He added that 1,000 buses will run in this scheme in the entire state.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister named Kalahandi University as Ma Manikeshwari University.
After the flagging off ceremony, Patnaik went to Balarampur in a LAccMI bus, where he inaugurated a BQS facility.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated projects worth over Rs 300 crore and laid foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 900 crore for the district.
The LAccMI scheme has already been launched in Malkangiri and Gajapati districts.
In the first phase, the scheme will provide bus service in rural areas of six districts– Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kalahandi, and Gajapati.
Declaring that today is a big milestone in the development journey of Kalahandi and a day of great joy, the Chief Minister said that a project worth more than Rs 300 crore was inaugurated here today. Another Rs 900 crore worth of infrastructure was laid for the project. He said that this would further accelerate the development of the district.
Informing that the Laxmi Yojana has been started after getting to know about the problem of buses in the villages from the Chief Minister’s Office, the Chief Minister said, “This will remove your daily worries. More than 1,000 buses will operate in the state soon,” adding, “The buses will come to your house. They will connect all – mobility of children to schools, farmers to markets, and mothers will increase.”
Highlighting the development of Kalahandi, the Chief Minister said, “Kalahandi is our model in the field of transformation. Improvements in education, health communication, infrastructure, industry, and agriculture have made the dreams of the people of Kalahandi come true. Kalahandi has changed its history and added new success stories. The journey of development has progressed. Kalahandi is providing rice to the whole country today.”
He said that the Indravati Project is the engine of Kalahandi’s development and added that this project has brightened the face of Kalahandi. “Soon our Nabin Odisha programme will start here. Each panchayat will receive Rs 50 lakh. This money will be spent on our culture and modern infrastructure.”
He opined that the development journey of Kalahandi will go further in the coming days with everyone’s cooperation.
