31 May 2012

Pyari misses Number Game

After almost nightlong confabulations with Lawmakers of BJD in Sahid Nagar, MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra was rather muted
 in his Press Meet this morning.
 According to him 33 MLAs including 3 Ministers met him on 29 May, while 13 others went back from outside his house due to intense Media glare.Thus Mr.Mohapatra demonstrated support of 46 MLAS in the BJD Legislative Party of 104.
 However 10 of them seems to have drifted away to Naveen Niwas, where a parallel meeting of Pro-Naveen Patnaik Lawmakers took place.Political observers feel that this reduced number game is perhaps the reason why the “Margadarshak” was not at his aggressive best in the Media Meet held today.
 
He scaled his “Revolt” to “Grievance Sharing”, while acknowledging Naveen Patnaik as the Boss of the Governing BJD.
 Pyari Mohan’s aggressive pitch did not elicit support from too many Lawmakers as rumored earlier in the political circle.
 “This time Pyari Babu failed in his number game”, said a close confidant of the BJD Supremo.
 However, Chief Minister former Principal Advisor’s sudden move to organize such meetings with Lawmakers in absence of the Chief Minister has shaken the BJD establishment.
 
An irked Naveen is rushing back to Bhubaneswar cutting short his 9 daylong UK visit due to the move of Mr.Mohapatra.
 What is going to happen now is a million dollar question.After the reported challenge of Pyari Mohan, the ball is now in the court of Naveen Patnaik.Will he ignore the show of defiance or will take action against the three Ministers, who were closeted with the senior MP.
 
Naveen’s close circle feel that if there will be no action against the people who openly defied the Big Boss of BJD, it will be a sign of weakness and will spell more defiance in future.
 
However political circle feel that if he takes action, Pyari Mohan has to defend his flock and confrontation will further escalate.At least one thing is clear that the much hypred speculation of fall of BJD Government is nowhere is in picture.
Mr.Mohapatra has made it abundantly clear that  he has no intention to destabilize the Government and does not nourish to be the Chief Minister. He continues as a “Worker” of BJD.“Thing will take final shape once Chief Minister returns Bhubaneswar by tomorrow,” said a senior Vice President of BJD.

29 May 2012

Two children die, 20 affected by diarrhoea in Nabarangpur

At least two children have died and more than 20 others are suffering from diarrhoea in Architaguda under Ravanaguda Gram Panchayat of Jharigaon block of the district.
The villagers informed that one Sangita Bhatra (4), daughter of Trilochan Bhatra died last Sunday while, after two days, daughter of Giridhar Bhatra also succumbed to the disease.
A medical team rushed to the village on Sunday and sifted one Manbodh Bharta (5) to the District Headquarters Hospital, Nabarangpur in serious condition. Urmila Bhatra (5), Anti Bhatra, Lata Bhatra, (35) and Kamana Gouda (6) have been sifted to the Zonal Hospital at Umerkote.
The medical team headed by Dr Bismaya Kumar Rout and Dr Himansu Mishra with staffs are treating other patients at the village. Dr Raut said, “We suspect polluted water is the cause of the diarrhea outbreak,” adding that most of the affected were children and women.
Interestingly, there are four hand-pumps for the entire village inhabited by 1,365 people. Out of the wells, only one is in working condition. Villagers depend on dug-wells and ponds for drinking water and bathing purposes which is said to be the cause of infection. Though Collector Sibabrata Dash had directed all officials including Asha and Anganwadi workers in all meetings to check diarrhoea to make the district diarrhoea free, it has gone in vain.

28 May 2012

Tribals call off move to plough 'Tibetan land'

The proposed move of tribals to forcefully acquire lands allegedly encroached by Tibetan refugees settled at Chandragiri in Gajapati district was postponed after a high-level discussion with officials on Sunday.

Adivasi Dalit Vikash Samiti (ADVS), a tribal organization backed by the CPM, had threatened on Saturday to forcibly plough the areas under Tibetan refugees. "We suspended our agitation after the district administration assured to solve the problem soon. Another round of talks will be held at the collectorate level soon on this issue," said L Ram Gopal Rao, Gajapati district secretary of the CPM. He alleged about 1,000 acre of land has been encroaching by the Tibetans.

Rao said till the matter is solved, neither the local tribals nor the Tibetans will cultivate the disputed land. The encroached land would be identified only after the ongoing demarcation process by officials is complete, sources said.

Tibetans in Chandragiri, however, denied they have encroached upon tribal lands. "We did not encroach upon any land of local tribals. We are ready to vacate the lands if any encroachment is found on our part," said local Tibetan assembly chairman Kenpo Pema Tenphel. "We don't want to confront local people. We are peace-loving and want to settle here in peace with the locals," Tenhel said.

About 2,500 people of Tibet, who had fled their country along with their spiritual leader the Dalia Lama, were settled at Chandragiri in 1966 by the central government. They settled in five camps at Chandragiri, Mahendragarh, Jiranga, Labarsing and Tekkilipadar villages. The land to settle them was given on lease by the government, sources said.

Naveen on UK visit: No second-in-command in State.

Who is now the number two in the ruling BJD as well as in its 12-year-old Government? The issue is being debated in political circles here in the backdrop of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s ongoing nine-day tour of the United Kingdom since May 23.

All the orders are coming from Patnaik, who is also the party supremo, from London, whether it is the decision of the BJD to join the all-India shutdown call given by the opposition parties at the national level on May 31 against the petrol price hike or that of transfer of officials.

With the differences between Patnaik and his principal strategist and senior party MP Pyarimohan Mohapatra having widened further, the latter is no more calling shots in the BJD. The differences between the two were confirmed by Mohapatra himself when he told the media a few days ago, “I accept both the arguments that there was a rise in my influence and (is) a fall of that.”

When Patnaik left on his foreign jaunt for the first time in the 12 years of his rule, everybody was eager to know who would look after the party and the Government as the second-in-command in his absence. Patnaik, however, left no hints about it.

A number of Ministers who met Patnaik on the eve of his foreign visit had expected he would give the number two assignment to either of them. They were frustrated when the boss talked something other than what they were expecting.

Political observers had expected that as the senior-most Minister, Prafulla Chandra Ghadai would be asked to shoulder the responsibility of the administration in the Chief Minister’s absence.

Senior party leader and former Minister Damodar Rout, who is most vocal against “the second power centre” in the party and the Government, Pyarimohan Mohapatra, was also frustrated as Patnaik did not ask him to handle party affairs in his absence.

The leadership crisis was felt when Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh shot off a letter to Patnaik asking his Government to free all the innocent tribals booked on charge of being Maoists. Minister of Forests and Environment Debi Prasad Mishra tried to save the situation saying the State Government has withdrawn cases against 9,110 tribals. But the reply was all about statistics sans a political slant in view of the Union Minister’s apparent intention to defuse the tribal card being played by Patnaik propping up “eminent tribal leader” PA Sangma as a candidate for the Presidential elections.

Patnaik seems to give a clear message that there is no number two in the BJD and the Government. As many observers feel, time will tell if he can really manage the affairs of the party and administration without an unofficial second-in-command like Mohapatra.

Govt to revise vehicle usage rate for babus.

BHUBANESWAR
It is the babus who rule the roost in the State as far as availing of financial benefits are concerned.
You will be astonished that the senior officials are paying only Rs 300 to Rs 400 a month towards using official vehicles for private use. And the Finance Department sources reveal that the officials are paying the vehicle charges in accordance with a 2003 circular when petrol price per litre was only Rs 32. At present the price of petrol has gone up to Rs 73.
With the steep hike in petrol price, the Finance Department is considering a revision and rationalisation of the vehicle usage rate, said Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai here on Saturday.

27 May 2012

Chandragiri tribals on warpath

Over 1,000 tribals of Tibetan refugees-dominated Chandragiri and Mahendragarh in Gajapati district on Saturday gathered at Hatapada.
They resolved to start cultivating ‘their ancestral lands’, occupied by the refugees, from Sunday. CPI(M) State Secretary Janardan Pati, party farmers’ front leader Jagannath Mishra and party leader in Gajapati L Ram Gopal Rao addressed the gathering and mounted a scathing attack on the district bureaucracy and police.
They alleged the authorities had helped Tibetan refugees illegally take possession of nearly 2,400 acres of forest land belonging to tribals.
The tribals brought along their traditional weapons and were led by leader Devraj Beher Dalai and Dalit Adivasi Bikash Samiti president Sambaru Sabar. It was resolved that they would start cultivating the lands to take them back into possession. A serious law and order situation is feared.

26 May 2012

Pyari ends speculations

By: Basant Rath, Sr.Journalist.
The ruling BJD MP and party’s senior leader Pyari Mohan Mohapatra has indirectly accepted his “hot and cold” relationship with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
 Mr.Mohapatra, in fact, ended a long standing speculation over his relationship with BJD Supremo as have been reported in media.
“I accept both, regarding rise of my influence in the state as well as fall in relationship with Naveen Babu,” Mr.Mohapatra told reporters replying a question on his reported sour relationship with the Chief Minister.
Mr.Mohapatra, who enjoyed the status of a “Chanakya” in Naveen’s Durbar for 12 long year, of late fell apart from the Chief Minister. The people, who were making beeline at his residence, now fear to enter into Saheed Nagar.


The reason: the fear of Naveen.


Since some days, Naveen had stopped taking advice from his chief strategist over some reason or other. While nobody knows about the cause of difference between the two, it is now evident that both are not pulling well as they used to do barely six months ago.
Becoming emotional, the bureaucrat turned politician said that romance between couple slows down when it becomes old.
“I have relationship with Naveen Babu for over 12 years which is a ‘Yug’,” Mr.Mohapatra said indicating that there was nothing unusual if their relationship slowed down.
Replying a question on the BJD supporting P A Sangma as the presidential candidate, Mohapatra said: “The party president has announced name of Sangma. Therefore it is decision of the entire party.”
Asked whether he would garner support for Sangma, Mr.Mohapatra said: “It is responsibility of the person who named him and not me. Besides, Sangma is there to seek support for him.”
On a question on the BJD not becoming member of the Rajya Sabha Select Committee, Mr.Mohapatra said that the regional party had not requisite number to make into the committee.
However, replying another question, he said: “Why you (media) people are worried. Jayalalithaa is now sister of Naveen Babu....There is nothing wrong if a brother gives dowry to his sister.”