Mahaprayan scheme
The extremely shocking incidence which can pooh-pooh the scheme launched by the Government of Odisha relates to Dana Majhi of village Melghara in Nakrundi panchayat of Thuamul Rampur block. The Mahaprayan scheme for providing ambulance to carry dead bodies free of cost to the residences of the deceased which was announced in February is now hurriedly launched officially after the incident took place in Bhawanipatna, the headquarters town of Kalahandi district. Majhi admitted his wife Ananga Dei in the District Headquarters Hospital at Bhawanipatna where she died of malaria and tuberculosis on Tuesday night. His request for an ambulance to carry her dead body to his village was allegedly turned down. Finding no help from any quarter, Majhi, carried the dead body on his left shoulder with his 12-year-old daughter following him on road. People spotted him on his way in twilight hours after he had covered a distance of about 10 km and informed district Collector D Brunda who arranged an ambulance and the body was taken to his village Melghara. The ambulance belongs to Balaji temple voluntary wing which was arranged at the behest of local hotelier Pramod Khamari. The Government claims to have deployed 40 dead body carriers in 37 hospitals. This hospital should have at least one carrier available for emergency. The Collector instantly asked the Sub-Collector to conduct an inquiry and submit his report by the same evening. This distressing incident has drawn flak from all corners of the country. As the video footage went viral in social media, the State HRC suo moto took cognizance and registered a case asking the Collector to submit a report within 15 days. Similarly, the NHRC directed the State Government for a report on the incident within four weeks.
Parala palace mystery
With four suicides, one of them a suspected homicide, the Parala palace mystery has deepened further. The CM ordering a Crime Branch investigation after discussion with police DG BK Singh is the right call through taken late. The entire family of Parala Palace manager committing suicide is a rare incident and intriguing because of a suspected criminal conspiracy hatched to demoralize the king and appropriate his property. Keeping him in wrongful confinement for years and even, the alleged slow poisoning the king is not ruled out. Crime Branch cops are expected to reach at the logical conclusion of the suicide theory as suicide notes have been recovered. The conspiracy aspect is also expected to be laid bare. The king and the two-time lok Sabha MP Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deb, if fully cured, can also throw light on the background story. Meanwhile, the relatives of the king hold local MlA and certain TV channel responsible for the mass suicide. The two sisters consumed poison, while their brother Sanjay Patra was found hanging in the same room. Ananga Manjani’s another brother Santosh Patra was recovered in a critical condition and was admitted into MKCG hospital where he died. Maharaja’s daughter Kalyani Gajapati came from Chennai and appeared before the SIT. She has ruled out the alleged house arrest of the king. Property transaction of the royal family over past 35 years if inquired is expected to spill the beans. The king’s brother admits there is a property dispute. Mystery deepens as days pass on.
Mahanadi row
The Mahanadi wind has now turned into a whirlwind. With occasional dropping of the screen, BJD’s drama over Mahanadi remains unfinished with different players and actors appearing in different acts. Surprisingly in-house critics are also appearing with all seriousness blaming the Chief Minister for his alleged wrong handling of the issue. Intraparty rivalry is surfacing on each passing day and the latest one is concerned with the ruling party itself. Minister Damodar Rout has targeted senior BJD leader Surya Narayan Patro who has recently got a lease of life after the CM made him a senior party spokesman. According to Rout, Patro should not have carried a clay pot on his head in the midst of the party’s women wing members who were asked to break the pots before the images of the Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh and Water resources Minister Uma Bharti. This off the cuff remarks become an easy catch for the ever ready media. Patro is among the women folk touring the entire State for the Kalas Yatra at the instance of the party supremo and the Excise Minister is unaware of this, is a theory for which there is no taker. Rout wants to prove time and again that he is the second in command in the party and his comments are like curative medicine in the interest of the party. Therefore, he posed a question whether by carrying Mahanadi water in pots and by breaking the pots before the Chhattisgarh CM’s photo, the water dispute can be resolvedIJ It is ridiculous, he said while erupting in the process yet another controversy in the party. After meeting a State BJP delegation, Union Minister Uma Bharti assured, as she has always been, to safeguard Odisha’s interest. She also informed about the meeting she is going to fix during September 10-20 between the two heads of State. There is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel.
Kosal Mahabandh
Paralyze the life of the people of an area and any bandh call given by anybody will be successful. The call for Kosal bandh was louder with a bang but ended in a whimper. Kosal Mahabandh of Kosal State Coordination Committee (KSCC) can be summed up in these lines. The August 26 Mahabandh has become an annual ritual for the last four years. It is the so-called nuisance value of the organisers which generates a fear psychosis among the people, mostly the business community, who down their shutters out of fear of damage to their business establishments. It is all about response from the people, coercive or voluntary. Be that as it may, in the absence of a roadmap clearly cut out, the separate State movement has lost its steam now. led by Rajendra Narayan Singdeo, Premram Dubey, Balgopal Mishra and Pramod Mishra in different phases, people of western Odisha have espoused the cause but the number has always remained minuscule and there is a fight for leadership between Sambalpur and Bolangir over nomenclature of the language spoken in the area. There are also differences of opinion regarding the High Court Bench which is impacting the overall movement for separate Kosal Statehood. The movements now wait for a new brand of leadership and a fresh band of committed people as staunch supporters with a do or die spirit.