By IANS
Bhubaneswar : Hundreds of people, including women and children, milled around Rahul Gandhi Friday to catch a glimpse of the young Congress MP, who is on a four-day trip to Orissa to interact with the people in the hinterland.
The Amethi MP, speaking to the people at Tangiripada hamlet in Nuapada district, said that the underdeveloped Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput regions in Orissa need more government attention.
“The government should give more stress to developmental activities in the underdeveloped KBK (Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput) region”, Rahul said, interacting with people in the region known for its backwardness and poverty.
Earlier, he had travelled from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in a helicopter and landed at Nangalboard helipad in Nuapada, some 450 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, at around 10 a.m.
The Congress general secretary travelled by road to Tangiripada, a hamlet of around 120 people, located one and a half kilometres from the helipad. He discussed the residents’ problems with them.
Thousands of people greeted him at Nuapada and in neighbouring Kalahandi as he began the trip that was earlier labelled Discover India by the Congress.
However, it is now being termed as Rahul’s familiarisation trip with Youth Congress units across India.
Senior Congress leaders welcomed him with garlands and flowers.
Rahul will travel by helicopter and by road to several villages and towns in around 13 districts. On March 10, he will visit the state Congress office at Bhubaneswar and meet party functionaries.