Once dusty town with poor infra, Prez Murmu’s hometown undergoes transformation

Murmu’s biographer, Sandeep Sahu, said the area’s development began when she was a minister but the pace accelerated after she became the president

When Droupadi Murmu became India’s 15th President in July 2022, her little-known hometown of Rairangpur in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district was suddenly spotlighted. Once a dusty town with poor roads, inadequate healthcare, and crumbling infrastructure, Rairangpur has since been undergoing a transformation

Droupadi Murmu became the 15th President in July 2022. (Sourced)

New steel and concrete structures have begun to come up. In July, Rairangpur was declared a separate police district, though the crime rate has not changed. A new Ayurveda college and an integrated Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (Ayush) hospital are under construction. A tribal research centre is taking shape. A ₹43 crore sports complex, with a synthetic track, is nearing completion. The Dandabose airstrip, used infrequently, is being considered under the regional airport development programme UDAN. Officials said that Rairangpur is on the shortlist for district status and an announcement is expected soon.

Rairangpur resident Dushmant Basa said the place is getting its own identity after Murmu became the president. “...she regularly monitors progress and ensures her people feel special whenever they come to Delhi. Her election has forced both the state and the Centre to look at this region differently.”

The Bangiriposi–Gorumahisani stretch will boost freight transport from mineral belts, cut travel time across tribal pockets, and connect Rairangpur directly with Jharkhand and coastal Odisha. The local station is being upgraded under the Adarsh scheme with better amenities, such as waiting rooms, toilets, etc.

Rasananda Lenka, another resident, said express trains will pass through the region for the first time in decades. “Earlier, express trains bypassed us. Now, my grandchildren may grow up in a town truly connected.”

The Buramara–Chakulia link will connect Mayurbhanj with Jharkhand’s industrial hubs. The Badampahar–Kendujhargarh line is expected to boost mineral-driven industry and tourism in Simlipal National Park.

At Murmu-founded SLS Trust’s L&T Skill Hub in Paharpur, tribal boys and girls are learning masonry, welding, and solar-panel installation. Twenty-three of the 100 new Eklavya Model Residential Schools for quality education to Scheduled Tribe students sanctioned for Odisha are coming up in Mayurbhanj. A Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise park is also in the pipeline.

Murmu’s biographer, Sandeep Sahu, said the area’s development began when she became a lawmaker and minister. “But the pace has accelerated after she became president. The first glimpse of the Murmu effect came when electricity reached parts of her village within days of her nomination in 2022,” he said. Sahu added it remains to be seen how much of what is being promised will be delivered before her tenure ends.

Rairangpur’s turnaround has been compared to Hinjili, once known for migrations, and Sambalpur. Hinjili was transformed after five-time former chief minister Naveen Patnaik began contesting from there in 2000. It has piped water in every home, solar-powered streetlights, and a 100-bed eye hospital.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who won the Sambalpur Lok Saba seat in 2024, has positioned the region as a potential “knowledge and industrial hub,” pushing for the expansion of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Burla with super-speciality wings and a cancer-care centre. The state has cleared a ₹240 crore Mahanadi Riverfront Development Project, a ₹382 crore 24x7 drinking water scheme, and an agricultural university for the region.