Bhubaneswar, Nov 6 (IANS) The opposition Congress party on Thursday released its manifesto for the ongoing Nuapada by-election, promising to address several long-standing issues, including the menace of migrant labour and ensuring irrigation coverage for 60 per cent of agricultural land, among others, if the party wins the bypoll.

“The manifesto outlines Ghasiram Majhi’s past struggles, the key issues in the constituency, and our proposed solutions. Voters have the right to know their candidate, and with widespread interest among the people of Odisha in the bypoll’s outcome, this manifesto is crucial. We will compel the state government to resolve these issues by consistently raising them in the Assembly,” said the OPCC President.

The manifesto also highlighted the developmental works undertaken for Nuapada during the Congress party’s rule in the state, during Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das’s tenure as MP, as well as by the party’s bypoll candidate, Ghasiram Majhi.

The party promised to end the scourge of ‘Dadan Shramik’ or migrant labour by promoting agriculture-based industries, developing agriculture and small-scale industries, and strengthening MGNREGS.

It also assured irrigation coverage for 60 per cent of agricultural land in the constituency through the development of the Patora Dam, the Tikhali project, and other minor irrigation projects, along with the construction of cold storages and the effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act to address issues faced by farmers and tribal communities in the Nuapada district.

The Congress further promised that if its candidate, Majhi, wins the bypoll, the party will ensure the filling of vacant teacher posts in educational institutions and doctor posts in Primary and Community Health Centres across the district.

According to the manifesto, several developmental works were undertaken when the Congress was in power, both at the state and the Centre.

The major projects highlighted include the approval of a super-speciality hospital in Nuapada in 2013 during the Congress-led government at the Centre, the construction of the Patora Dam during the party’s rule in the state between 1995 and 2000, the Centre’s approval of a National Highway passing through the district, and the establishment of two Kendriya Vidyalayas, among others.

–IANS

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