Children on their way to school on a motorcycle in Rourkela. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

Surprise visit

Known for his surprise visits and catching wrongdoers and negligent officials red-handed, Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena is becoming increasingly popular among the city residents. He is known as hands-on who takes bold decisions. Recently, the mayor made a surprise visit to a parking lot near a shopping mall following reports that some people were illegally collecting parking fees in the name of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. The information turned out to be correct and Jena, who reached the spot in his white SUV caught the offenders red-handed and handed them over to the police. The fact that the mayor acted quickly and without even seeking the help of police has endeared him to the people.

Water concern 

Last Thursday was an exceptionally busy day for chief minister Naveen Patnaik with his third floor office at the state secretariat receiving a steady stream of visitors. People came from all walks of life and represented organisations as varied as Odisha Petrol and Diesel Employees’ Association and Odisha Auto Drivers’ Association. They were all there to offer their views to the chief minister on the vexed Mahanadi water dispute, a cause that is now echoing through the state. Old-timers confessed that chief minister’s third-floor office had never before been so crowded and security personnel, who had clear-cut instructions to handle the visitors with kid gloves, struggled to keep things in order. “Most of the guests were very excited as they had come to the secretariat for the first time. Thank God, everything went peacefully,” said a member of the security staff on duty. 

Bold leader

Dhenkanal’s BJD MP Tathagata Satapathy has raised quite a few hackles in the ruling party with a recent editorial in the Odia daily owned and edited by him. The piece written in the context of Mahanadi dispute with the state water resources department in focus is being seen by many as a veiled attack on his own party government and chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who heads the department. But those who know Tathagata, who happens to be the son of former chief minister Nandini Satpathy, are hardly surprised. They point to the Parliamentarian’s bold views on use of cannabis. Interestingly, Tathagata has also launched an online campaign to decriminalise defamation. 

Sulking Singh

If sources in the BJD are to be believed, Congress turncoat Bhupinder Singh, who had joined the party on the eve of last elections, is sulking. Singh had high hopes of being re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha by chief minister Naveen Patnaik after his truncated term in the Upper House came to an end earlier this year. But that did not happen with Naveen instead favouring Prasanna Acharya, another senior west Odisha leader. Ever since, Singh is said to be manoeuvring to get a position of advantage in the BJD. But, success has so far eluded him. The only consolation for him has been the party’s decision to put him in charge of one of the seven districts to oversee preparations for its upcoming protest programmes on the Polavaram issue.

Threat backfire 

BJD leader and excise minister Damodar Rout seems to be cut up with his junior cabinet colleague and agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy who was in news recently with BJP activists throwing eggs on his vehicle in Balangir. While the egg attack on Maharathy, the BJD strongman from Pipili, was condemned by most of the ruling party leaders, Rout appeared to have little sympathy for his colleague. His statements on the issue appeared to imply that Maharathy was paying for his own mistakes. Significantly, the agriculture minister had earlier declared boastfully that if BJP workers dared attack him with eggs in Balangir, he would see to it that no party minister from the Centre was allowed to enter Pipili. The challenge thrown by Maharathy was provocation enough for BJP workers to attack him with eggs in the west Odisha town.  

Selfie with Biju

The statue of former chief minister Biju Patnaik near the airport has become a selfie hotspot for the youngsters. The young and the happy almost invariably crowd the pavements on the either side of the road leading to the airport. The entire area has become a popular hangout zone for young people. The selfie craze has gripped the younger lot with the state government as well as some non-government organisations celebrating the birth centenary of Biju babu, a daring pilot and freedom fighter whose statue near the airport named after him serves as a landmark. 

Groups of youngsters can be seen taking selfies or groupfies with the statue at any time of the day. “I am going to post this on Facebook and write something about him,” chirped a selfie-crazy youngster.  

Ashutosh Mishra