Odisha assembly session begins

The first session of the newly constituted Odisha assembly began here Thursday with Governor S.C. Jamir laying out the road map of the newly elected government.

"Immediately after the swearing in ceremony, my government called the first meeting of the council of ministers and resolved to implement the promises we made in a time-bound manner," the governor said in his address to the first session of the 15th assembly.

"My government shall fulfil in a time-bound manner the primary construction needed in the area of road communication, drinking water, electricity, irrigation, agriculture and education in both urban and rural areas," he said.

Jamir said the government has decided to irrigate an additional 10 lakh hectares of land in the next five years.

He also said the government has decided to set up a mandi (market place) and cold storage in the public-private partnership mode in each gram panchayat (village council) to help farmers store and sell their products.

The ruling Biju Janata Dal has 117 members in the 147-member assembly while the main opposition Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have 16 and 10 members respectively.

The House adjourned for the day after paying homage to former legislators and police and security personnel who died or were killed in the line of duty in the recent past.