People of Odisha in few months will create new record - Naveen

Bhubaneswar, Mar 16  The people of Odisha in a few months will create a new record in the political history of the country, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Saturday while addressing the last Cabinet meeting of his fifth term in office.
The statement of the Chief Minister has assumed much political significance as if the ruling BJD wins the 2024 Assembly election with an absolute majority, Patnaik will set a new record for the longest-serving chief Minister in the political history of the country for consecutively becoming the Chief Minister of Odisha for the sixth time in a row.
Patnaik said, “On May 29th, 2019 we had the first Cabinet after the elections where the manifesto was approved as the Government’s priority.”
He said, “Today as we sit for the last Cabinet of this term I express my gratitude to the people of Odisha for repeatedly reposing their faith.”
“ I feel blessed to have been chosen to serve the four and half crore family of Odisha, " the Chief Minister said adding the youth of the state will build New Odisha - a state which will set benchmarks in every sector and bring prosperity to its people.
He said, "The next 10 years will be decisive for Odisha’s future and the state will herald an empowered Odisha – modern, dynamic, and responsive - primarily for our youth."
“We will usher in Odisha with Secure Roots and Powerful Wings. With all your blessings, the Juggernaut rolls on," Patnaik remarked.
"When I first took office as Chief Minister of Odisha, the State was devastated by the Super Cyclone and looked down upon as a poor underdeveloped state."
"There were humongous challenges in bringing the state back on the development track. But I was guided by the vision of Biju Babu to make a difference in the lives of my 4.5 crore family members."
Today, Odisha is recognised as one of the most progressive states in the country and is cited as a model in various fields.
Patnaik said, "The past five years have been based on the Principles of 5T. History will remember this period as a milestone which put Odisha on a firm path of Transformation and prosperity for its people."
He said, "The transformation is visible across the state and every segment of the population. Our Teamwork through transparent governance and intense use of technology has been creating remarkable change within a short period."
Patnaik further said, "Before we started this term in 2019, the State faced a rare summer cyclone, the first in 43 years, Cyclone Fani which was an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm, Category-5 with a wind speed of 280 kmph."
"This caused extensive damage to the nerve center of our economy including Puri, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack. Thanks to our dedicated and diligent community-based disaster management systems, we faced the cyclone courageously and our relief measures started immediately after the cyclone storm passed," he stated.
"Even the New York Times, on the front page, praised Odisha as a model in disaster management. Our resilient people bounced back and within a few months there were no signs of the cyclone’s devastation," the Chief Minister said.
Unfortunately, in early 2020, the World was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the next two years till 2022, the virus, in its multiple variants, had caused immense damage to economies across the globe.
Despite the unknown fear of this first-of-its-kind pandemic, Odisha was comparatively well prepared and emerged as a model in Covid Management, as per a study by John Hopkins University.
The Chief Minister said, “We not only ensured one of the lowest mortality rates in the country, but also saved millions of lives across India by supplying oxygen."
Odisha, he said, was the only state that provided free quality health care from testing to treatment for every citizen, in partnership with private hospitals.
The Chief Minister said, "One of our main focus areas in this term has been education. Today, in every state panchayat, you will find a transformed High School with smart classrooms, e-libraries, science labs, computer centers, sports facilities etc."
"Probably, nowhere in the world, such a large number of schools have been transformed in such a short time."
"As a next step, we have started the transformation of the colleges across the state,he said, adding that the Nua-O program and scholarships launched by the state is a revolutionary step which has never been attempted in the world at this scale," he added.
“We are committed to making the innovative Nabin Odisha Magic card as a passport to prosperity for our youth," Patnaik said.