Bhubaneswar, Jul 28 (IANS): The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 356 crore to the Odisha government for construction of 35 bridges, officials said on Wednesday.

The assistance has been sanctioned under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for construction of 35 bridge projects covering 17 districts in the State, NABARD's chief general manager (Odisha Region) C. Udayabhaskar said in a statement.

These bridge projects are intended to provide improvement in rural connectivity to 11.06 lakh people in 1,324 villages, he said.

During the current financial year, critical rural infrastructure projects under drinking water, irrigation and rural connectivity (road and bridge) are being proposed to be supported under RIDF-XXVII.

The cumulative sanction under RIDF for the current year stands at Rs 1,047 crore. These infrastructure projects will play a key role in supporting the rural economy by improving the livelihood of people, the CGM added.