Bill Gates visits Bhubaneswar slum, interacts with residents

Bhubaneswar: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Wednesday morning visited a slum in Bhubaneswar and interacted with the people who live there.

He visited the Biju Adarsh Colony in the Maa Mangla Basti along with state government officials.

Besides enquiring about the well-being of the residents of the slum, Gates also interacted with members of women's self-help groups (SHGs) that work there.

State Development Commissioner Anu Garg said, "We have shown him that the slum dwellers have got land rights, tap water connections, toilets and power supply. He expressed happiness over the transformation of the slum area into a model colony."

State Urban Development Secretary G Mathi Vathanan said that Gates spoke to the beneficiaries of different welfare schemes of the government.

A resident of the colony said that the philanthropist interacted with them and asked about the changes in their lifestyle as a result of the schemes.

"He asked about how we were living earlier and our present status," she said. Gates, who arrived here on Tuesday, is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik later in the day.

Different departments of the state government work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.