Cuttack-Sambalpur NH work to be over by March: Gadkari

BHUBANESWAR: The long-pending expansion work on the 265-kilometre (km) Cuttack-Sambalpur National Highway-55 into four lanes will be completed by March 31, three months after its last revised deadline of December 31, revealed a written reply by Union minister Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha. The Rs 4,482-crore project has missed several deadlines earlier.

In response to a query by BJD MP Mamata Mohanta, Gadkari replied that work on 223 km is already over, leaving only 42 km to be completed. Work on more than 128 km of the total 153 km stretch between Angul and Sambalpur has already been finished. Similarly, work on 95 km of the total 112 km stretch is over between Angul and Cuttack.

Gadkari had told Lok Sabha in March that the expansion work is likely to be over by December 31. In reply to a question by BJD Lok Sabha member Chandrani Murmu, Gadkari had then said the work between Sambalpur and Angul was likely to be complete by June and the rest by the year-end.

Delay in completion of the highway, connecting western Odisha with the costal parts of the state, has been a major political issue in Odisha. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik in March this year had written to Gadkari raising concern over the delay. Naveen had then pointed out that 199 people had died in 399 accidents in two years. Naveen had highlighted haphazard construction activities and miserable road conditions for the accidents.

The Sambalpur-Cuttack NH expansion work, being executed in three packages, was started in 2017. The original completion deadline for the entire stretch was September 2020 while the Sambalpur-Angul portion had a deadline of August 2019.

Between Cuttack and Angul, a stretch of 60 km is being expanded at a cost of Rs 999.32 crore and the other portion of 51.8 km at Rs 991.41 crore.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs had approved the expansion of Cuttack-Angul stretch in September 2015 and that of Sambalpur to Angul in June 2016. In December 2021, BJD MPs had taken up the delay in completion of the Sambalpur-Cuttack highway work with Gadkari.

IOC raises Panipat refinery expansion cost by 10 per cent, pushes completion deadline by a year

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has revised the cost estimate of expanding the Panipat refinery by 10% to Rs 36,225 crore and delayed the completion deadline to December 2025. The refinery, located north of New Delhi, is being expanded from 15 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes. IOC is also setting up a polypropylene unit and a catalytic dewaxing unit as part of the project. The company aims to increase its crude oil refining capacity to 87.9 million tonnes by 2026.

Assembly election results give BJP hope in Odisha; BJD says Naveen Patnaik invincible

BJP state unit confident of replicating election results in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh in Odisha next year. BJD denies impact on their winning streak. BJP believes people of Odisha will go for a change and bless them in the 2024 elections. Senior BJD leader asserts BJP and Congress cannot match BJD in many ways. Despite defeat in three states, Congress is enthused by victory in Telangana and plans to upset BJD in 2024. BJP's tally in Odisha assembly increased from 10 to 23 seats, becoming the principal opposition. Congress' vote share dropped in both assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

Smart City works will be completed before next monsoon: Panaji MLA

Panaji MLA assures completion of Smart City Mission before next year's monsoon; CEO of IPSCDL monitoring all works; Inconveniences caused to residents due to road digging; Delays have added to people's woes