Jual stumped outIJ
If the sky falls, we shall catch larks” is an old proverb. Jual Oram last Saturday while addressing a meeting at Rourkela said if Jharsuguda which is only 130 km away from Rourkela had no airport, the case of Rourkela would be stronger. All set to be launched in a couple of years, another airport at Rourkela did not look feasible. It can be construed that this was perhaps the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not make any announcement regarding conversion of Rourkela airstrip into a multi carrier airbase. That could have been told at that time straight away instead of keeping the people of Rourkela guessing. And having said that, the Tribal Affairs Minister in the inaugural ceremony of the 25 Kl aviation fuel station said, four factors stood as deterrent in the way of a fully fledged airport at Rourkela. The first one which was related to aviation fuel terminal is over. Of the rest three, one is expansion of the run way length, the second is up gradation of air control tower and the third is night landing facility which can be done at a cost not more than Rs10 crore. Given this Rs10 crore and all these deterrents done away with, will the distance factor from Rourkela to Jharsuguda continue to remain as a bottleneckIJ The Minister should have clarified.
B’ngir job scam
One hundred and sixty-nine Revenue Inspectors and Amins of Balangir have been left in the lurch after the State Government scrapped their appointments on the basis of a Vigilance report. Debraj Mishra has once again hogged the limelight of dishonor as the recruitment was held in 2012-13 during his tenure as Collector, Balangir. This means the incumbents hitherto were in confirmed Government service drawing salary, perks etc. as per Government norms. Now that the appointments have been made null and void, they are on the street leading to serious social implications. Mishra was alleged to be the self- appointed custodian of answer sheets and the mark sheets etc. with intention malafide to manipulate them before declaration of the result. That in this respect the Collector was notoriously assisted by one senior clerk Niranjan Tripathy has been proved beyond doubt. A charge sheet against the scam tainted Collector and the senior clerk is yet to be filed though, both of them are under suspension. Now the point is, there must have been some competent and innocent candidates inflicted with the same punishment as it has been to the rest. The computer practical test was thoroughly manipulated according to the Vigilance report which said candidates who secured 2 marks were given 93 marks while the candidates who secured 98 marks were awarded zero.
No to N’giri mining
When it comes to Kalahandi the huge deposit of bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills is a curse to the Dongria Kondhs as they are made to believe by some self-styled social activists. Having political aspirations, unless these messiahs of the tribals blackmail the industrialists, where will the money come from to their aid during electionsIJ They are also financed by the vested interests supposed to be the bête noire of those industrialists. This being the reason of their active presence in the mines area, how can one dare to make inroads to such unapproachable villages and convince them about the benefits they would derive by extending their olive branch for commencement of the projectIJ The VAl authorities in lanjigarh have gone the whole hog for a transformation of the area with visible change in their life style without disturbing their ethnic culture. The company came up with hospitals and educational institutions spending huge amount in CSR activities. Even the Akshya Patra foundation was hired to supply mid-day meals to children. Of late, after the gram sabhas decided against mining of Niyamgiri hills at the behest of these anti-development agencies, the district administration has been asked to reach out to the villagers especially the youths to help them out in their self employment drive. lanjigarh as we know was never known as a ‘Mao infested’ area. Now, if it has become one, these anti social elements, as they should be called, are responsible and should be swooped down by the police administration to protect the larger interest of the State.
Sports sponsorship
When the Rourkela Sports Association (RSA) conducts a coaching camp or a tournament at the Ispat Stadium, not only the stadium is given free of cost against the normal charge of Rs 10,000 but even some rooms in the adjacent hockey stadium, including the kitchen, are allotted for free. But when other associations book the stadium, they are charged the usual fees. This discriminatory treatment does not behoove well with the public sector culture. That the RSA has been allotted a two-bed room house where a multi-gym facility has been put in place (not by RSP) to attract sports persons including the general public, similar sponsorships are not accorded to others who take genuine interest in organizing sports activities, namely the Chandra Sekhar Sports Organisation or the Panposh Sports Association (PSA). After MlA Gregory Minz’s defeat in Assembly election, RSP’s sponsorship to PSA is in fits and starts. RSP charges them the usual fee and a security deposit for organizing a tournament. No relaxation what so ever for a tribal dominated association! Sports organisations have not flourished in the past due to a ‘conservative sports policy’ of RSP and now when these associations have upped their ante, the RSP authorities play a divide-and-rule game. The Football Association of Odisha, takes lightly about the all-India status given to the tournament even if conducted by non-qualified referees! The popularity of the tournament is on the wane to the extent that unsung teams from Kolkata and Sundargarh are making it to the finals. To sum up, growth of sports bodies in Rourkela is a misnomer as long as the RSP stands as a banyan tree.
(The writer, a public relations expert, is a functional editor of English weekly Kosal Horizon, email : baidyanathmishra123@rediffmail.com Cell: 94370 83025)