Bhubaneswar: Odisha secured the highest number of Vishwakarma Awards at the 17th edition of the ceremony, organised by the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) at the B.R. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.
The State received honours for 17 projects across multiple departments, including 10 submitted by the Odisha government.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari attended the event as the chief guest and emphasised innovation and transparency in infrastructure development. He urged departments to adopt modern practices in preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for roads and buildings.
The Works Department earned three awards for the Lokayukta Bhawan, the Mother and Child Hospital in Jajpur, and the newly completed Cancer Hospital in Balangir. Chief Engineer Manoj Mahanand accepted the awards. The Water Resources Department won five awards for the Gangadhar Meher Project, Purunagad Mega Lift, Bhanjanagar Dam, Mahabarida Anicut, and Lower Sukhtel Project, received by Chief Engineer Lingaraj Gaur.
The Sports Department received two awards for the Shuttle and Aquatic buildings at Kalinga Stadium, accepted by Officer Dhirendra Kumar Pattnayak. The Police Housing Corporation’s Chief Engineer, Narmada Behera and Senior Engineer Srikant Samal accepted the award for the modern hostel building at Gopabandhu Administrative Academy.
Additional honours went to NBCC’s Chinmay Ghosh for the IIM Sambalpur campus and AIIMS Bhubaneswar Director Dr Biswas. The RBI’s new data centre in Bhubaneswar and the Koraput National Highway project also received awards.
Former Chief Engineer Manoranjan Mishra’s book on lean construction techniques was unveiled during the event. Renowned engineer Ashok Basa and architect Taraprasad Dhal were also honoured for their contributions to the construction sector.