Bhubaneswar, Oct. 16: All roads today led to Naveen Nivas as BJD leaders, students and fans of Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik vied with one another to wish him on his 70th birthday.
Injuries to a few students when a bunch of gas balloons burst and molten rubber fell on them near the chief minister's residence failed to dampen the enthusiasm of his supporters, who poured into Naveen Nivas in large numbers carrying colourful bouquets and placards that read "CM is our hero".
With Naveen in a generous and jovial mood, except for a brief while when the news of 11 students sustaining minor injuries in the balloon blast reached him, his party leaders, including ministers, pulled out all stops to make it a memorable occasion.
Traffic on the one-km stretch from the state BJD office near Capital Hospital to Naveen Nivas moved at a snail's pace in the morning and afternoon hours with thousands of vehicles carrying BJD supporters choking the road.
Caught in the jam was minister of state for commerce and transport Ramesh Majhi. He pleaded desperately with the people to let him pass. But today he was just one among others and no one appeared to be in a mood to oblige him.
At Naveen Nivas it was raining bouquets, some of which were lying unattended on its well-manicured lawns that were today occupied by BJD supporters. Each one of the supporters searched for a vantage point to have a good look at the chief minister, who sat on the spacious verandah of his residence receiving flowers and greeting from well wishers with folded hands.
Standing next to him, police commissioner R.P. Sharma ensured that the crowd remained orderly.
Eager to catch the leader's eye, former minister Sarada Prasad Nayak and Bishnu Das, both biding time since losing the last elections, made a brave attempt to get as close to the chief minister.
They had reached Naveen Nivas from the BJD office where they, along with thousand others, scribbled birthday wishes for Naveen on a huge flex banner.
"It's an innovative idea. Even those who can't reach Naveen Nivas can greet him from here," said a fan.
Youths, especially BJD students' wing activists who came up trumps in the recent campus elections, were among the most enthusiastic to raise slogans and wave placards. The chief minister, too, greeted them with a lot of warmth, accepting bouquets with a beatific smile.
The balloon explosion that left 11 students injured was the only time the crowd's attention wavered from its hero dressed as usual in his crumpled kurta-pyjama.
The chief minister, too, looked worried as the injured were rushed to the nearby Capital Hospital. Later, Naveen and his ministers including health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, visited the hospital. The Opposition Congress and the BJP leaders, too, went to the hospital to inquire about the health of the injured.
Eyewitnesses said that the bunch of Helium gas balloons burst less than a hundred metres from Naveen Nivas when sparks from crackers fell on them. Nine of the injured were girls, mostly from Rama Devi Women's University.
"The balloons burst all of a sudden. As a result some molten rubber fell on the students," said MLA and president of BJD students' wing Byomkesh Ray.
Police commissioner, R.P. Sharma, however, said the balloons exploded because of heat.
Doctors at the hospital said that the students had suffered injuries on their face, scalp and hands.
"All of them have sustained superficial injuries and are out of danger," said superintendent of Capital Hospital Binod Mishra.
However, state BJP president K.V. Singh Deo and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Prasad Harichandan blamed the ruling party for the incident. They also criticised the chief minister for celebrating his birthday with a lot of pomp when the state was reeling from drought and farmers were committing suicide.
Additional reporting by Lelin Kumar Mallick
