441 Junior Engineers Join Water Resources department in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Altogether 441 junior engineers (Civil) joined the Water Resources Department of the state government in an induction programme, organized at the convention centre of Lok Seva Bhawan here today.

Addressing the newly-recruited engineers, the Chief Minister called upon them to follow the 5T initiative. Under the 5T initiative, several major irrigation projects have been accelerated with application of modern technology, said the Chief Minister.

He expected that all the new engineers to keep themselves updated in new technologies and bring innovative solutions to challenging issues.

“Now that you are in public service, your sole responsibility is to serve the people with utmost transparency, sincerity and commitment.  Our every action has a direct impact on the lives of people. We must be sensitive to the needs and aspirations of people and do our best to serve them,” said the Chief Minister.

Water Resources department is a critical wing of the state government and it looks into a multitude of development works making a significant impact on people from all sections of society. Engineers of this department take up various projects including provision of irrigation facilities to farm lands, protection from floods and resource development for drinking water, industries, fisheries and many other life changing activities, he added.

Speaking on the projects of the department, the Chief Minister said the state has more than 4,000 dams and several others are under construction. The state government has taken up construction of 30 In-stream storage structures in the first phase and another 41 will be constructed in second and third phase.  These projects will help us in water conservation, rural water supply and help improve the ground water level which is emerging as a critical environmental issue everywhere, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Water Resources Minister Tukuni Sahu said farmers remain at the centre of CM’s vision of new Odisha. It is, therefore, the engineers of this department, who work for providing water to farmlands, have a very important role in state’s transformation, said the Minister. She further revealed that about 50 per cent of the 441 new recruits are women.

Sharing their experiences, two new engineers, Bishnupriya Samal and Jivan Jyoti Rout, said the recruitment process was very quick and transparent with automatic choice locking system.

In her welcome address, Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources department, Anu Garg said, “Our department has a major role in farmers’ empowerment as we create water infrastructure for farmers.” As the quantum and scale of work is increasing, she asked the new engineers to work as a team, complete projects in time by using modern technology. EIC Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty proposed the vote of thanks.