ODA Manch seeks NCSC’s plea in cracker explosion case

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Dalit Adhikar Manch (ODAM), who came forward to fight for justice for the victims of cracker explosion at Kujang, requested National Commission for Schedule Castes (NCSC) to interfere in the case.

A team of human rights activists consisting of Simanchala Nayak, Kalandi Mallik, Prashant Mallik and Rajkishore Nayak of ODAM have collected information by visiting the families of the victim Bharat Patra (20) and Pituna Patra (17) on November 22. They also met some Government officials to collect the necessary information on the matter.

They claimed that the victims of the cracker explosion incident were of ‘Dom’ community of Schedule Caste category, who are daily labourers and landless poor. “For adequate compensation, along with proper settlement, and a high level inquiry into the incident we want the NCSC’s intervention”, they added.   

‘The rights of women are also human rights’

BHUBANESWAR: “The role of Government and the intervention of media, to create awareness among the women and highlight the issues about the domestic violence act, are very important. Government should give stress on the post-implementation of the Act,” said the secretary of Friends’ Association for Rural Reconstruction (FARR) Pramila Swain in a press meet on ‘International campaign fortnight to combat violence against women’ here on Friday.

International campaign fortnight or the 16 days of activism against gender violence is an international campaign. The campaign period starts from November 25 which is International day against violence against women and ends with December 10- International Human Rights Day. The campaign emphasizes that violence against women is violation of human rights. It says about strengthening local work around violence against women, demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world against violence against women, creating tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women and at last to create awareness from the grassroots level to the world level.

The veteran social activists of the State opined, ‘The rights of women are also human rights’ in the press meet organized by Civil Society Resource Facility (CSRF) supported by Oxfam India. They said that nearly 164 countries have been participating in the 16 days campaign since 1991.

The themes of this year are bringing together women, peace, and human rights movements to challenge militarism, proliferation of small arms and their role in domestic violence, sexual violence in and after conflict, political violence against women, sexual and gender-based violence committed by state agents, particularly the police or military. The organization appealed to the media to highlight the women related issues particularly regarding violence against women.

“All districts are facing the problem in implementation due to dual responsibility of protection officers, lack of synergy among stakeholders like protection officers, the court the court and service providers, service of notice within 3 days, lack of awareness about the act on a massive scale etc.”, said secretary Pramila while inaugurating the press meet. 

A veteran activist and State coordinator of NAWO said the administration is becoming person centric as development initiatives are being taken within a particular person’s period, if the person has interest on the field which is not a healthy trend. It should be system centric, where any officer who comes will work on the problems raised by women. 

40 agitating city bus workers held, bus service resumes

BHUBANESWAR: Following two days strike by Dream Team-run city bus employees demanding their reinstatement and over time wages, police arrested 40 agitating employees on the third days of their strike on Friday here. After the arrest, city buses have started plying in the capital and its other routes.

On Thursday, keeping eye on security of the buses, along with drivers and conductors, the operators had cancelled the bus service from all the routes. While the sacked employees with present staff sat on a dharna at the Master Canteen depot opposing misbehave and imposing of fine without showing any appropriate reason of the company officials.

Protesting the police arrest, CITU members and supporters agitated in front of the office of Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP) here to release the arrested city bus workers. The organization said the police have not done justice by arresting the innocent city bus workers, who were demanding for their cause.

After two and half days’ discontinue service of city buses, finally it resumed its service which relaxed the commuters of the city along with the outside passengers.   

  

     

Workers’ strike hits City bus service

BHUBANESWAR: More than half of the Dream Team run city bus cancelled its service in the city along with Cuttack, Puri and Khurda due to strike by its employees on Wednesday.

Some of the bus employees who were suspended before along with the present staffs sat on dharna. They did not join in the work. They alleged that the officials of City bus service are giving overloaded work of 16 hours in the place of 8 hours duty. “The City bus administration is also imposing fine over them without showing any appropriate reasons and sometimes it behaves like a dictator,” they alleged. If the administration would not listen to our demand, the strike will continue till the demand is fulfilled, said the protesters. 

On the other hand, the City bus administration said the protesters were not our staffs now, most of them were sacked from the service due to indiscipline behaves in their work. Some of them were resigned from the service and so on. They are motivating other working staffs for the strike and some working staffs were also joined in the agitation.

Due to the strike, people witnessed lot of problems as the City bus service remains the lifeline for the commuters. Most of the passengers were not aware about the employees’ strike which disappointed them.

   

Salia sahi’s mass rally against displacement

“We can die for the land, but we won’t give a single inch of land to the corporate company”, it was the slogan against displacement by the slum peoples of Salia sahi on Tuesday from starting to the end of the procession and rally in front of the State Secretariat here.

“Salia sahi people don’t want any flat except Land Patta of 20x30 in their slum area. They need their basic rights to live in their land, not displacement”, said the advisor of Basti Surakhya Manch Shivram to The Pioneer.

Already a team consisting of 7 members from Salia sahi regional committee had given a letter of 14 chartered demands to the Chief Minister and Urban Development Minister. “If the Government starts demolition in the slum area of Salia sahi after this protest and request, the Kalinga Nagar situation will repeat again at Salia sahi”, cautioned the Salia sahi Regional Committee for the protection of the slum.       

Thousands of protesters took part in the mass rally following a procession that started from Mailatanki square of Salia sahi and culminated at the PMG square by crossing Jaydev bihar square, Ram Mandir square. The protesters flaunted placards bearing slogans against displacement from the slum.

To give solidarity to the demonstration by Salia street, the slum development committees  of Maa Santoshi Nagar, Maa Mangala Nagar, May fair Nagar, Trinath Nagar, Srikrishna Nagar, Swadhin Nagar, Mahabir Nagar, Maruti Bihar, Satyanarayana Nagar, Adivasi Gaon in the city were participated in the mass rally.   

OIIFT presents Fashion show “Destination Odisha”

Bhubaneswar: Orissa Institute of Interior and Fashion Technology (OIIFT), a premier fashion and interior designing institute i going to organize a fashion show “Destination Odisha” with the help of CII and NIIT on November 26 in Exhibition Ground here. All the designs are prepared by the students of OIIFT as it is the creative learning process of the students.

The sequences are conceived, conceptualized, stitched and made ready all by the fashion designed students under the guidance of their faculties. All the sequences will be based on the tradition of Odisha. Among the 12 sequences, kids from SAI International School will walk on the ramp. In other sequences, the nationally and internationally famous models will take part in the show.

Before, they had organized a fashion show in 2009. This year 55 second year students from Odisha and Jamshedpur Institution will take part in the show as the designer. Among the renowned models and designers JC Randhwa, Sonia Birtia, Pritam Panda are attending the show. Famous sizzling dancer Antara Biswas will perform dance in the show.

  

Action against J’suguda MLA’s atrocity on Dalit demanded

Bhubaneswar: Demanding proper action against Jharsuguda MLA Naba Kishore Das in connection with assaulting of a Dalit youth, National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NCDO) organized a mass rally at PMG square here on Saturday.

According to NCDO President Ashok Kumar Malik, a dalit youth Trinath Gayel was beaten up by the MLA of Jharsuguda Naba Kishore Das on May 24 this year in the District Magistrate’s office regarding the implementation and speed up of development works for Dalits in the area. After a few minutes argument taking the matter of the use of MLA lad fund the MLA had attacked the youth in front of the District Magistrate.

“We demanded the government to take necessary action against the MLA by arranging different rallies and protest meetings, but we did not get any satisfactory reply from any quarter. So that we came out with a mass protest rally to attract the attention of the Chief Minister to take further steps to check the violation of Dalit rights by stopping such types of heinous attack on us”, Malik said.

Hundreds of protesters were taken part in the mass protest rally following the procession starting from Master Canteen to Lower PMG by holding the placards bearing the slogans against Naba Das. They handed over the memorandum to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to solve their problems.

                                                                                            

“We need justice. It is not the insult of the particular youth; it’s the insult of all Dalits. It’s the time of raising voice against the violation of our rights. If the government will not take any action against the assaulter, then the movement will be continued till our demand is fulfilled”, said Dalit leader Gobardahan while addressing the mass.