Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday exhorted the engineers to keep themselves abreast of the new technologies in field of water resources.
“Technology is changing rapidly and it is important that all of you update yourself with the latest trends in your field. I am sure all of you will work hard and with dedication and sincerity towards the development of the State, he said here while addressing the orientation program for 275 graduate engineers who joined the State Water Resources Department as Assistant Executive Engineers.
He said State has a huge potential in irrigation and hydro power and these engineers were joining a department at an exciting era of transformation in the State.
“We will continue to invest in Water resources development and you will have a prominent role to play in the coming years, he added in an inspiring note,” he said.
The Chief Minister further said that Odisha is predominantly an agrarian state and irrigation is a vital parameter for the prosperity of agriculture and the farmers.
“We have been making huge investments in the irrigation sector over the years. 10 major dam projects, 50 medium dam projects and more than 2500 minor dam projects are currently operational in the State. Work for major Dams like Lower Suktel, Deo, Kanupur, Subarnarekha are in full swing and will be completed soon. Many other projects are in various stages of development,” he said.
Mr.Patnaik said that Odisha has become a major source of paddy and other crops for the country, due to the significant role of the irrigation sector.
Joining the programme, Water Resources Minister Raghunandan Das recalled the role of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik in development of water resources in State and called upon the engineers to focus on right management of every drop of water.
Water Resources Principal Secretary Anu Garg said that Water Resources is the biggest engineering department of the State Government.
She outlined the importance of water resources management and spoke on the initiatives of state government in this sector.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Secretary to Chief Minister 5-T VK Pandian and other senior officers attended the programme.
Mr.Pandian, in a detailed interaction with the engineers, spoke on the importance and various factors of 5T Initiative of the Chief Minister and how engineers can follow it and bring a paradigm change in water sources management.
The new recruits will go for three phase training with a 15-day online training followed by a two-month practical training.
The third phase training will be given in WALMI for 15 days.