Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday launched the Aama Mukhyamantri, Aama Katha (our chief minister, our views) to connect with the people.

Under this programme, the chief minister will directly talk to people thorough videoconferencing on social issues and initiatives taken by the government.

Over the past few months, Naveen has been directly talking to people of rural areas through videoconferencing under the Aama Gaon, Aama Vikash (our village, our development) programme. He listens to their grievances and sanctions projects for various development schemes relating to their villages.

Under the new programme, Naveen talked on the need to educate children and the impact of education that brings changes to society in Saturday's programme.

"All parents should take care that their children go to school," he said. He said: "We have also introduced the scheme to award those panchayats from where maximum number of students go to schools. All the panchayats should compete to get the awards."

Last year, Naveen had announced a number of schemes to award those scoring good marks in Odia and in the annual matric examination. Under the Odia Bhasa Brutti Puraskar, 10 students from each block will get a cash award of Rs 5,000 each.

Similarly, under the Mukhya Mantri Medhabruti Puraskar, 40,000 students will get Rs 5,000 each for scoring good marks in the matric exam. Hundred students from each block, 100 from each municipal corporation, 50 from each municipality and 20 from each notified area council will will get the award.

The three best schools of each block will also get cash rewards of Rs 3 lakh each with the amount distributed among the teachers.

The state has also launched the Mo School campaign - an initiative to make students who graduate from schools active participants in the development of their respective schools.Naveen also spoke to 112 representatives of panchayats of six blocks.

Corporal punishment

A student of Samantaraipur Primary School in Tirtol block in Jagatsinghpur district suffered injury as a teacher allegedly beat him up. The school and mass education department has ordered an inquiry into the alleged corporal punishment incident. The state had imposed a ban on corporal punishment in all schools in September 2004.