Prasanta Kumar Paikray has emerged as a strong contender for the BJD ticket for the Moroda Assembly seat in Mayurbhanj district.The young leader, who is an electrical engineer, has been working as a dedicated worker of the BJD for about decade.
The district’s largest women’s federation, Maa Ambika Mahila Mandal having more than 1 lakh members, including 30,000 dedicated members in the constituency, has decided to support Paikray in the elections.
They have submitted a huge signature-campaign-book to some senior BJD leaders informing that they have passed a resolution to do all efforts to fetch a BJD ticket for Prasant and make him win the Moroda seat.
Besides, Prasanta has also been working as youth president of Shree Sai Foundation in Mayurbhanj district. The foundation’s aim is to help orphan child, empower women and dig ponds in water scarcity areas. He is also an active member of the Sai Karnashrama (an orphanage home) in Rasgobindpur block. He is also a vice-chairman in Ranga Bhumi, a State-level cultural organisation.
Though Prabin Bhanjadeo, a member of Mayurbhanj royal family, won the seat on the BJD ticket in 2009, his popularity seems to have waned as the constituency has witnessed a little progress during his stint and he has turned hostile to the people, the Mandal women members alleged, adding that they would not provide further support to Prabin.
On the other hand, they argued that Prasanta deserves the ticket this time as he is an educated, a strong organiser and dedicated worker and a real lover of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.PNS n Rourkela
While other units of the Steel Authority of India limited (SAIl) have been generating huge revenue by selling the rejected refractory bricks (RRB) every year, the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is getting negligible revenue, RTI activist Aditya Mohapatra said at a Press meet here on Thursday.
Mohapatra blamed the poor management and vision of the RSP’s marketing department and non-cooperation from refractory engineering department for the loss. According to Mohapatra, while between 2009-10 and December 31, 2013 of 2013-14 fiscal the Bhilai Steel Plant generated revenue of about Rs 16.84 crore, the Durgapur Steel Plant Rs 9.63 crore, Bokaro Steel Plant generated Rs 4.74 crore, the RSP generated only Rs 2.22 crore.
Similarly, in 2013-14 till 31 December 2013, the RSP did not generate a single pie out of RRB sale where as Bhilai Steel Plant generated Rs 2.98 crore, Durgapur Steel Plant Rs 1.72 crore and Bokaro Steel Plant earned revenue of Rs 33.37 lakh.
Mohapatra further alleged about a dozen of small scale industries (SSIs) in and around Rourkela downed their shutters for certain periods as they did not get raw material from the RSP. These units are now forced to purchase the RRBs from other units like Bhilai, Bokaro and Vizag plants, which is cost effective.
The RSP is not getting the last sold price as it sales once in a while (say once or twice in a year). Besides, it is not taking any initiative to know the up-to-date prices from other units, which are doing auction frequently, alleged Mohapatra.