Droupadi Murmu Likely to Visit Rourkela on April 21
Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu is likely to pay a one-day visit to Odisha’s Rourkela and attend various programs in the steel city, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram said on Tuesday.
Oram, the Lok Sabha MP from Sundergarh, which includes Rourkela city, was speaking to reporters after meeting Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at Lok Seva Bhawan here.
“I had a meeting with the Prime Minister on three issues and one of them was the President’s proposed visit on April 21… Nothing (the schedule) has been finalized yet,” Oram told reporters. he said.
Oram said he also discussed with the prime minister the progress in land acquisition for expansion of Rourkela Steel Plant and land transfer from the plant to Airports Authority of India for expansion of Rourkela Airport.
“The progress on both projects is satisfactory,” he said.
During the meeting, Oram thanked Majhi for the state cabinet’s recent decision to extend reservation benefits in medical, engineering and other professional training fields to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and SEBC students.
Recently, the Odisha cabinet increased the quota for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students to 22.5 per cent (from 12 per cent), Scheduled Castes (SC) to 16.25 per cent (from 8 per cent) and introduced 11.25 per cent reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC/OBC) students in professional courses.
“Increasing the quota will greatly benefit students from marginalized communities in pursuing higher education,” he said.
Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg and DGP YB Khurania were present at the meeting.
Majhi said in an
“This visit of Mr. President is a matter of pride for Odisha. Our state government is continuing all preparations and cooperation to make this program a complete success,” he added.
