Biswa Ranjan Mohanty, a general secretary of the Biju Youth Janata Dal (BYJD), is all poised to offer his candidature for the Banki Assembly constituency in the coming polls if his party wishes so.
A graduate from the Utkal University, Mohanty has all along been involved in the student politics after being inspired by the ideals of Biju Patnaik since the year 2000. Being in the BJD for 19 years, Mohanty is also well connected with the developmental works and issues relating to the constituency.
“Our main problems in Banki include lack of irrigational facilities and cold storages which are required for the farmers,” Mohanty told The Pioneer.
He said efforts are on to put Banki at its proper place in the tourism map of the State as it has famous Charchika Temple. He lamented that Banki has been neglected in the tourism sector even as it is very much close to the golden triangle of Odisha.
Asked about animal slaughter practice going on at the goddess temple during Durga Puja, Mohanty said he along with his friends and followers is creating awareness against the superstition and has succeeded to a large extent.
Mohanty is known for his fight for restoration of natural water-flow in the Mahanadi. He along with his supporters had sat on a Dharna in New Delhi in protest against the construction of barrages upstream Mahanadi by the Chhattisgarh government.
“If the Chhattisgarh Government doesn’t remove barrages, we will wage a relentless struggle till Mahanadi gets back its water in full swing. The river is the lifeline of people of Odisha and particularly of Banki constituency,” he contended.
Mohanty said he would continue to fight for establishment of an IT college at Banki.
Meanwhile, he has constituted a youth brigade, which is working to prevent corruption form block, tehsil and Government offices in the Banki area.
“We are also closely supervising various popular schemes of the Government, including KAALIA Yojana, to ensure that all the deserving beneficiaries reap harvest without any middlemen,” said Mohanty.
Besides, the youth leader is also working for establishment of required number of hospitals with advanced facilities and adequate doctors and staffs.
“Biswa Ranjan Mohanty has become a household name in each and every village of our constituency. We will certainly reject tainted leaders. We want a young leader with clean image to become our leader so that all our needs will be met,” said Kali Charan Swain of a village on Banki town outskirts.