A symposium on the subject ‘Panchayati Raj and Biju Patnaik’ was held at the district headquarters here sponsored by the district administration on Tuesday.
Rajya Sabha MP Bishnu Das inaugurated the one- day symposium attended by MP Dr Kulamani Samal, the Zilla Parishad President, the block chairmen of Jagatsinghpur and Raghunathpur, ADM Saran Kumar Jena, PD Biswajit Das among others.
late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik’s role in strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions in Odisha was discussed. MP Das lauded Bijubabu for implementation of three- tier Panchayat Raj System in Odisha in the year 1992. Odisha became first State of country giving 33 per cent reservation to women participation in Panchayat raj elections in the year 1992 and laid importance on women empowerment, health, education and communication in grassroots level democracy, he added.
Minister Damodar Rout, MlAs Prashant Muduli, Rajashree Mallick, Chiranjib Biswal, MP Ranjib Biswal, chairpersons of Paradeep and Jagatsinghpur municipalities, all block chairpersons and Dr Bimalendu Mohanty were invited to grace the occasion as speakers, but none of them turned up.