Sadist hooliganism at IAS officer’s house
Throwing cow dung into Karthikeyan Pandian’s official residence from outside and then gate-crashing his house by a group of youths alleged to be BJP activists is an indication of the growing political intolerance in the State; and the incident has been condemned by many political leaders, including form the BJP itself and the BJD. Associations of the IAS and the OAS officers including the Secretariat employees union called on the CM and urged him to take stringent action against the hooligans, indulged in blatant vandalism. Even Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and MP Baijayanta Panda, suspected to have their support from behind, condemned the incident referring to it as ‘unfortunate’ and demanding stringent action against the culprits. later, former Minister Damodar Rout also condemned the hooliganism. All said and done, the ugly incident has come as a blessing in disguise for Pandian. He has been vindicated as an upright civil servant. The fire generated for almost a week as a focal point of discussion throughout the State has lost its steam now in the din and bustle of the upcoming Bijepur by-election. At the end, the incident seems to have gone to Pandian’s advantage. Those calling him a non-Odia should remember that many Odia IAS and IPS officers are posted outside Odisha and what will happen if they are also behaved in the same fashionIJ
Bijepur may head for three-cornered fight
The Bijepur by-poll, believed to be a BJD-BJP affair so far, is fast changing into a three-cornered contest as Congress candidate Pranaya Sahu has been consolidating his position on each passing day and it will not be a surprise if he finishes on top of the table. Voters of the constituency have started believing that Sahu may prove the ‘dark horse’. In his ‘game changer’ role, he is said to be cutting votes both from the BJP and the BJD playing the local card in his favour. Ritarani Sahu of BJD is also a local candidate but the manner in which she jumped into the BJD fold soon after her MlA husband’s death, has put her in a disadvantage position. The sympathy factor is fast eluding her. Meanwhile, an anti-incumbency factor is going to pose a big hurdle for her party. Both the BJP and the Congress are fuelling this anti-incumbency factor to bring the voters to their sides. The BJP, confident of winning the seat, is lagging behind because of its honeymooning with the BJD for long, at least till the 2009 election having not delivered anything worthwhile for the constituency. Besides, BJP’s candidate Ashok Panigrahi is not on a solid footing because of his non – local antecedents. In the ‘Jana Manch’ programme of OTV telecast live, former MlA of Attabira Mahananda was more vocal with his logical arguments in favour of Congress asking why Bijepur voters would go either for the BJP or the BJDIJ Padmapur MlA Pradeep Purohit could not rise to the occasion and failed to present his party’s viewpoint in a convincing manner and there was none to defend the BJD as Sameer Das, the party spokesperson, was conspicuous by his absence in this public forum. The overall situation is, however, going for a topsy-turvy at the moment and a clear picture will emerge only in a few days.
OTV should keep away from controversy
The OTV, claimed as the number one news channel of Odisha, should keep itself away from controversy mostly created on account of one of its promoters, Baijayant Panda. The media house, whatever its commitment to impartial journalism may be, cannot go against its founder. That the TV channel since inception kept on serving the BJD, specifically till suspension of Panda, and suddenly changed its media strategy may have some truth in it, but not to the extent claimed by the ruling party. As the date of polling for Bijepur by-election closes in, the ruling entity seems to be getting nervous since the contest has become triangular with the Congress coming from behind to occupy the centre stage. As a media house of nearly 20 years experience, OTV is quite conscious about its TRP. It cannot be a dedicated channel of one person or a political party of his allegiance. Media strategies do not change overnight. The BJP’s complaint, therefore, holds no ground. The hue and cry raised on the changing credibility of the channel has no doubt thrown it for a public scrutiny but at the end of the day, OTV will come out victorious. The BJD and its spokespersons should be aware of the significance of media that serves as the watch dog of democracy. Challenging the media is like throwing stones to the mountain, a Sisyphean task indeed!
Doctor-population ratio: Odisha cuts sorry figure
In Odisha, one doctor servers 2,749 persons on an average against the national average ratio of doctor – to – population estimated at 1:1,597 in 2017. No wonder, Odisha languished at the 8th slot among the bottom – ten States in the country led by Telengana. The enormous shortage of doctors can be made up only with an addition of 10,000 more doctors in the current list of active registered doctors of around 17, 345 to attain the national average. Further, the State needs a whopping 25,655 more to attain the WHO norms of one doctor per 1,000 population. This being the statistical need, Odisha is far behind others. With around 900 doctors graduating now every year, the present requirement of 10,000 doctors can be achieved only after 11 years, i.e., in 2028. The acute shortage is attributed to long neglect of the Government to medical education. The total of MBBS seats in Odisha in 2018 stand at around 1,350. By 2020 it can have 750 more seats under the centrally sponsored schemes as by then, three more medical colleges in the districts of Puri, Baleswar and Bolangir will commence their MBBS course. Baripada’s Raghunath Murmu and Koraput’s lakshman Nayak colleges are the latest additions and medicos coming out of these colleges will take time. The other pipeline projects including that of Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district is yet to get off. No solution seems to be in sight in the near term and there is apprehension that Odisha will miss the national average target of 2025. Despite these odds, Odisha tom toms about its health sector performance to gain political mileage. The statistics, however, tell a different story as the State has miles to go for reaching out to the poor and the needy, let alone keep its promise of providing healthcare service at the doorstep.