Bhubaneswar, August 16, 2018: Remembering Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a man of great talents yet a simple and humble demeanour and his contribution to Odisha, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said that Odisha will remain indebted to him for his immense support during the Super Cyclone of 1999 which devastated more than half of the State.
The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister, who hails from Odisha took to the tweeter to express his profound grief at the demise of the former PM and at the same time remembered his contribution for the State during his Prime Ministership.
“Odisha, especially, will remain indebted to Atal ji for his immense support during the Super Cyclone of 1999 which devastated more than half of the state. The powerful cyclone affected lakhs of houses in Odisha, which had been reduced to rubble and lives in them destroyed,” said Pradhan.
“Odisha will be forever thankful to Atal ji for granting us AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. His visionary Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana also paved
the path for rural development in Odisha,” said Pradhan.
He said, “Odisha’s share in Gram Sadak Yojana was much higher than the national average. It was under Atal ji that Odisha got primary importance in NH development, doubling its length from 1600 km to 3200 km,” he added.
Paradip refinery- the Bikashdeep of Odisha was also a gift of Atal ji to the State, as he lay the foundation stone of the refinery in May 2002-the refinery not only contributes to the development of Odisha but also to the nation as a whole, Pradhan remembered.
“An extraordinary leader of India’s freedom movement who, among his great achievements, thrusted India into the nuclear club, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji will be remembered forever as man of great talents yet a simple and humble demeanour,” Pradhan said.
Vajpayee passed away at 5.05 pm at AIIMS, New Delhi on Thursday. He was 93. He was admitted to the AIIMS on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output, respiratory tract infection and chest congestion. His condition deteriorated in last 36 hours.
“Grieved at the demise of our beloved leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. Today is a sad day for Indian politics & a huge loss for the country. Former PM & first president of BJP, Atal ji was a prolific thinker, accomplished poet, political stalwart & a human being par excellence,” Pradhan tweetd.
