There is no denying the fact that Naveen Patnaik times his moves and decisions absolutely right. For sure, his bureaucrats guide him just too smartly. March 22 was the World Water Day to sensitise the human race to the grave water-related issues. Naveen declared “No Holi” celebration in view of the plight of people due to drought. Paradoxically, in a State with an average rainfall of 1,502 mm, there is no reason why water scarcity should occur.
Naveen has rightly exhorted the Odisha community to abandon Holi celebration which is by and large a terrible festival already during which hooligans capture roads, seize public places and pour or smear toxic colours ina drunken state. The decent citizens have gradually withdrawn from the revelry as the great times of fun, camaraderie, communal harmony and integration are no more guaranteed. And now the drought situation’ is hurting the poor the most. Naveen has not passed a whip on people; he has only tried to sensitise them into a logic for the larger interest of the public.
One aspect of the problem is the age-old Government tendency to cite happy statistics without bothering to know the ground realities. Due to grossly deficient sensitisation, very few people know that the community is responsible for operation and maintenance of all water supply systems and sources. The much-hyped Government-initiated placement of self-employed mechanics (SEMs) in every village has also failed due to inappropriate or inadequate information dissemination processes.
Around this critical time when the Chief Minister remained distressed that the drought was making lots of the poor miserable, Minister Sanjay Dasburma never bothered once to echo the master’s voice. Most shamelessly, he chose the World Water Day to be used as a strength display occasion. He remained engrossed in coaxing and cajoling at least two thousand sycophantic followers from his constituency to rush on motorcycles to place a demand note with the DGP to arrest his arch rival lalatendu Bidyadhar (lulu) Mohapatra of the Congress who has said in public that the Minister has availed an expensive Mitsubishi Pajero sports model vehicle from the jailed Pradip Sethi of the most defamed Artha Tatwa ponzi company.
The DGP has no jurisdiction to arrest anyone on a vague demand by paid mobsters. He cannot arrest an accused unless an FIR is appropriately filed by the affected victim and a thorough inquiry comes up with prima facie evidence of crime. lulu Mohapatra may be wrong and the police may remain callous. But the civil courts are always open. Dasburma should know that lulu in a TV talk show said that he doesn’t even want to utter the name of Dasburma because the latter is so lowly and no match in any manner. Taking his name would upset his mood and standing because he has stolen public property to become rich. Dasburma used to be an errand runner for some BJD leaders before being picked up from the garbage yard by Pyaribabu. Most peculiarly, Dasburma forgot the ethical standards and made it public that he does not ride the ‘bribe Pajero’ anymore as he has sold it to some other fortunate guy long ago.
Incidentally, the young Minister has always been in news for all the wrong reasons: backbiting, backstabbing, ganging up with other corrupt politicians in land grabbing activities and abusing authority particularly when he was the Housing Board boss. He availed himself a couple of housing
units but before the issue caught big fire, he dropped the hot bricks somehow to escape immediate notice. later however, he got caught and the controversy is not over even today.
Bug wonder, Dasburma doesn’t challenge lulu Mohapatra on any of the grave charges of corruption and upstart conduct, especially when the former says that Dasburma is so despicable that uttering his name would offend his body and soul and pollute his system. Somehow or the other, the general public would believe that Dasburma is not a clean soul at all, mainly because his rags-to-riches story is just too difficult to digest. Strangely, Naveen has not hauled him up as yet for offending the global statesmen on the World Water Day started in 1993 to inspire people on the planet to save and share water equitably for a happy survival. He could have done his revenge job a couple of days later. It’s high time people dug into his past to know if he was a pauper really and has abused power to amass wealth as charged by lulu Mohapatra whose effigy he organised to have raged by nondescript mobsters on a world observance day.
The Chief Minister would do great good tomorrow, on the Utkal Divas, by warning Dasburma against cheap, irritating farcical show of make-believe strength or saintly image.
Hail Naveen, and to hell with the Pajero Minister!
