Bolangir: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bolangir on January 15, a controversy has surfaced over cutting down of trees near the railway station ground in the district for a makeshift helipad. PM Modi is scheduled to attend a function at Bolangir railway station ground where he will flag off a slew of projects.
Bolangir DFO Sameer Satpathy informed that nearly 1000 to 1200 trees have been felled to make a temporary helipad near the venue.
"When our staff tried to stop cutting of trees, the site in-charge said that there have been strict instructions from higher authorities to make space for the helipad. The value of the trees which have been cut down will be nearly Rs 2.5 lakh," Satpathy said.
The DFO further added that after a detailed probe into the incident, action would be taken.
On the other hand, East Coast Railway CPRO Jyoti Prakash Mishra said, “The railway officials have initiated a probe with the local PWD authorities regarding the incident. I feel that it would be inappropriate to comment anything at this moment”
PM Modi’s upcoming trip to Bolangir will be his third visit to the State in two months. As per the new itinerary which was changed on Saturday, PM Modi will land at Raipur on January 15 and from there he will head towards Bolangir. According to the earlier schedule, the Prime Minister was supposed to land at Jharsuguda Airport and then fly to Bolangir on a chopper.