In my student life, I was involved in some social work like NCC and NSS programmes. Further, I was also elected as the seminar secretary of the commerce society, Dhenkanal College. Our village club Arunodaya Yuva Sansad, Angul, had also given me a chance to do some social work.
Meanwhile, the district youth co-coordinator selected me as the national service volunteer and I worked with the Nehru Yuva Kendra, Dhenkanal. Further, for my higher studies, I came to Bhubaneswar and took admission in the Utkal University Law College and then as a lawyer I started practice in the field of taxation.
In 1999, I became the life member of Red Cross and actively participated as volunteer in many programmes of the Indian Red Cross Society, Odisha State branch. It is a co-incidence that I have rendered 20 years of voluntary service with Red Cross by now when the Indian Red Cross Society completed its 100 years in 2020.
In these 20 years, the Red Cross has given me many scope and received my service without any cost. Now I want to discuss my perspective about Red Cross.
Red Cross, the name is enough to define itself. From 1999 Super Cyclone to 2019 Fani, I rendered voluntary services in distribution of relief. It was 2004. A Red Cross team led by me was returning from Sundargardh district to Bhubaneswar via Keonjhar after distributing tri-cycles, wheelchairs and blind-sticks, etc., to physically-handicapped people. On the day a strike was held supported by leaders across party line in Keonjhar district. Hence the complete district was in lockdown, but we were unaware of this. So confidently we reached on the main square of the town at around 7 pm. Immediately we were surrounded by hundreds of outraged strikers who insisted us to hand over the vehicle to make fire. I convinced their leader about Red Cross and told about how the war soldiers are not allowed to aim to the vehicles or persons having Red Cross emblem. Finally they released us and allowed to move. That situation is unforgettable.
In Odisha, blood banks and Red Cross are the two sides of a coin. Because at that time more than 50%t of Red Cross Blood Banks of India were in our State. But voluntary blood donation was nearly ten to twelve percent only where 20% of blood was needed only for accident cases. In the year 2002, an association of voluntary blood donors and motivators namely “Orissa Voluntary Blood Donors’ and Motivators’ Association” was formed by me as founder-president. To work throughout the State we established its district branches. Through these branches we arranged many mega blood donation camps in different districts and places. On April 1, 2005 a mega blood donation camp was organised in my chairmanship where 2,002 units of blood were collected in Bhubaneswar.
For voluntary blood donation I was trained by many organizations like State Blood Transfusion Council and American Red Cross Society etc. I also participated in many national and international conferences held at Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bhubaneswar and Burla. Books in Odia namely 'Voluntary Blood Donation and Red Cross Ra Katha' was written by me and also many articles in Odia and English was published in the local newspapers.
The State Red Cross Branch had organised many activities and observed many days including the World Health Day in Bhubaneswar. Prior to a function the then Red Cross State secretary, late Rabiratna Das called a preparatory meeting. In 2002, a Health Day Preparatory meeting was held on my proposal in a rural village except the capital city. It was accepted and done in Angul district in 2002 and in Boud district in 2003.
So, the World Health Day was observed in Talmul vilage of Angul which was my native village and the complete organisational responsibility was upon me. I went to my village and called a meeting attended by three sarpanches, five school representatives and two college representatives along with some selected local volunteers. Our programme was a grand success. For the first time the State level programmee was organised in a rural village along with voluntary blood donation camp, health camp, rally and meeting.
In the Red Cross, we have performed many activities like adopting villages, health camps, plantation and a lot of blood donation camps. For Red Cross Day and World AIDS Day, we also execute many social based theme plays. I am also the executive member of the Indian Red Cross Society, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate Branch and also contributed my time and energy in many disastrous situations like relief distribution during Fani and organizing blood donation camps during Corona and many more. I was fortunate enough to get a chance to participate in the general body meeting of Indian Red Cross Society at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
I, however, feel the Indian Red Cross Society, Odisha State Branch, is not giving importance to the life members as well as not conducting the annual general meetings, executive meetings for last ten years and discontinuing the monthly meeting of life members for last three years. Many life members also lost the rights from 55 Red Cross Blood Banks. Hence I have the support of all the active life members and we are united together to claim our rights. We formed an association in the name of “Red Cross State Branch Protection Committee, Odisha”. Let’s hope that we get back our rights in State Red Cross and maintain the originality of it.