College election on Oct 19

BHUBANESWAR: The college and university elections in the state would be conducted on October 19, Higher Education Department sources said. The department would send formal notification to the colleges and universities very soon to start the process.

According to the higher education department sources, the candidates could file nomination paper on October 12, while the ‘Why I Stand For’ meeting would be held on October 18. This year, elections in colleges and the varsities would be held at the same time. Like last year, the guidelines of Lingdoh Commission would be followed very strictly this year also.

The higher education department officials said that they had scheduled to complete the college election just before the Durga Puja to give a stress less puja vacations to the students. Last year, the Government notification had cautioned the college and university authorities that if any violence occurs in the campus regarding election matter, the election of that college or university will be called off which would be continued this year also.

Hearing of K’mal riot case to be completed soon: Naidu Commission

BHUBANESWAR: Justice AS Naidu, who took the charge after the death of the one-man judicial commission on Kandhamal riot case Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, said here on Monday that he would complete the hearing of the assassination of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and the subsequent communal riots in Kandhamal district in 2008.

Justice Naidu said the hearing would be started from where Justice Mohapatra had left. Kandhamal riot like situation should not be emerged again anywhere in the State, he said while conducting full fledged discussion on the inquiry process here.

Those who involved in the case were present in the hearing. “We hope the hearings will be completed very soon,” Justice Naidu said.     

It may be noted that State Government had appointed Justice Mohapatra to probe into the Kandhamal riot case in September 2008, one month after the brutal murder of Saraswati and the communal riots.

Much hyped Biju Swabhiman Dal launched

BHUBANESWAR: Much discussed Biju Swabhiman Dal (BSD) was launched here on Monday by declaring their executive body members and top order workers who would lead the party across the State. Though a lot of discussion was coming out about the involvement of some unsatisfied ruling party leaders in the newly launched party, but the president of the party Paramanand Jyotish denied the involvement.

Unveiling the party poster, Jyotish said that they have floated the new party to give a political alternative to the State. His party would focus on development of the State what Biju babu had dreamt of, he said, adding, “We need change and our party would bring that change with the political philosophy of the late Biju babu.”

President of the new political outfit declared the top party workers at the Press meet. Ranjan Kumar Nayak was declared as general secretary of the party by the president. Madhabanand Jyotish and Mira Swain were selected as vice-president, while Supreme Court advocate Chandrasekhar Panda and Subash Chandra Acharya were declared as legal advisor of the party.  

According to general secretary Nayak, the newly floated party is a new form of their existed social organisation Swabhimani Odia Manch which has observed its fifth anniversary on this April 18. They would start collecting party membership from Tuesday onwards across the State, while procession and padyatra would start from January 2013, Nayak added.

The party announced five-point plan to be implemented after it comes to power. According to their plan, they would focus on agricultural enterprises from the block level and pension would be given for lawyers, farmers, social workers, journalists, litterateurs and drivers. They would start ‘Tree for a wheel’ programme to protect the environment. The party would give emphasis on employment generation and appointment of local youths in the industries. Finally, they would oppose FDI and give support to the capitalists inside the country to invest capital in the State.

One in every four elderly face abuse in State: study

-- Are senior citizens safe in cities?

BHUBANESWAR: After a long working life, an elder person wants a blissful retired life with family members. But, now-a-days it turned into a myth for some unfortunate elderly people in the country as well as the State who don’t get favour of his family and spend a miserable life with the negligence of his own family. Almost one in every four (23.2%) elderly people in the State face abuse and mostly by their family members, revealed a national-level study.

The study which was conducted by HelpAge India, a charity working for the country’s elderly, found that 31 per cent of older persons reported facing abuse in national level. In State-level, Madhya Pradesh ranked the highest in elder abuse with 77.12 per cent, while Jaipur (Rajasthan) reported miniscule 1.67 per cent cases of elder abuse, the report stated.

Particularly in Bhubaneswar, the primary abuser is the son in 62 per cent cases, followed by the daughter-in-law with 25 per cent cases and 13 per cent by others, the report revealed. It stated that 78 per cent of those abused didn’t report to anyone and 61 per cent of these did not report the matter to uphold family honor.

One of the most important and unfortunate thing is disrespect to the elders. In the capital city, the report said, 69 per cent older people perceived disrespect is more prevalent in society followed by verbal abuse (31%).

Though the older people’s population is only 9 per cent of the total population of the State in 2011 and it would be increased to 13.8 per cent in 2016, they are very important for the society to guide the young generation, said activist HelpAge India State head Rashmi Mohanty. “Due to their sacrifice and hard work, we are living in a better condition now,” she said.

Recently, two old women Sabitri Sahu (70) of Balabhadrapur and Saibani Sahu (65) of Bandhamunhi village in Nayagarh district were thrown out by their family members including son and daughter-in-law. After being cast aside by their family members, they roamed around the capital city and later they were rescued by Maa Ghar Foundation.

There are so many incidents are taking place everyday across the State, but the elderly people are not reporting to uphold their family honour. “Every father and mother in the society makes priceless sacrifice for the happiness of their children and to see them as good human beings amidst insurmountable obstacles. Even they go hungry to feed her children. But when they become old and infirm, face torture instead of love, affection and proper care from their children and family members. Do we really respect our elders,” said an activist.

According retired Professor of psychology in Utkal University and Geriatric counselor Prof Pravash Kumar Mishra, there is a psychological contract between elderly people and the youngsters. That psychological contract has become weak and sick and that generates attitudinal problem as the social values are decreasing among the new generations. Another problem is gender difference, he said, female elderly people are very adjustable than male elders. So the male elders are very much affected by the attitudinal problem in the family, he added.

Besides all these family factors, the elderly people are also facing many problems from the outside people. In cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Brahmapur, the elderly people living alone in their home are not safety. Recently, some miscreants murdered retired Professor Gopal Krushna Panigrahy (65), a retired zoology professor of Berhampur University and his wife Kamala Kumari Panigrahy (61) at their residence at Ramkrushna Nagar in the Brahmapur city.

Recently, in the capital city, one elderly woman Jyoshna Devi was killed and her husband Kunjabihari Panigrahy was brutally attacked by four miscreants. Prior to this, an elderly woman Pushpalata Jena was brutally killed when she was alone in her home at Barmunda in the city on February 1 last year. In July 27, 2010, Panda Nursing Home owner Dr Brahmananda Panda was also killed in Kharvelnagar in city by some miscreants.

The increasing crime against senior citizens depicts the gloomy picture. Following the heinous crime against senior citizens, the Commissionerate Police have started thinking about the security of the senior citizens living alone in the city. The Senior Citizen Security Cells would be strengthened very soon, said Bhubaneswar DCP Nitinjeet Singh here on September 20.

Though some police stations under the Commissionerate Police have Senior Citizen Security Cells, but some other police stations in the city don’t have the cells, sources said. Still now more than four hundred senior citizens have registered their names in the cells of different police stations in the city.

Among all the gloomy pictures, some organisations are giving hope to the senior citizens abused by their family members. The organisations teach the elderly people how to live in a community life. They extend helping hands to protect the rights of the elderly people in the society and demand before the Government to provide social security. Whatever the reason behind the negligence of the old parents, but the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act, 2007 has given a hope for the aged, said social activist Anuradha Mohanty. “No doubt there is a law, but the laws should be properly implemented in letter and spirit,” said CLAP director Bikash Das.

Civil body criticised Govt’s plan to transfer Bhoodan land to tahasils

--Total 58,722.2 acre Bhoodan land available in State out of 6, 38, 706 acres

BHUBANESWAR: “State Government’s plan to transfer the Bhoodan lands to tahasils will not fulfill its objective,” alleged Human Rights Front president Manoj Jena here on Friday at a Press meet organised by the Odisha unit of Ekta Parishad to inform about the Jan Satyagraha-2012, a march of landless poor to get land rights.

Recently, in a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary directed the DLR and S to prepare a proposal for bringing suitable amendments to the Odisha Bhoodan and Gramdan Act, 1970 and the Odisha Bhoodan and Gramdan Rules, 1972 to transfer the left over work of Bhoodan Yangya Samiti to respective Tahasils. Jena said the transfer of Bhoodan land works to tahasils is not other than a secret process for converting the land which is not permissible according to the law.

Jena said that 58,722.2 acres of Bhoodan land is available in the State out of total 6, 38, 706 acres Bhoodan land which was collected during Bhoodan movement. The rest 5, 79,984 acres of Bhoodan land were distributed among the people of the State, he added.     

Following the statement of Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh about the missing of the records of around 24 lakh acres of Bhoodan land in various States, the noted Bhoodan workers of the country recently had expressed grave concern over the matter and urged the Government to recover the missing records of the Bhoodan land immediately which would immensely help the landless poor.

Ekta Parishad (Odisha) convener Bijay Pradhan said that they would join in the Janadesh Yatra led by Gandhian PV Rajgopal to press demands before the Central Government to give land rights to landless poor of the country. The Yatra would start from Gwalior on October 2 and end on October 29 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. Around 25 thousand people across the country would join in the 28-day yatra, including 5,000 landless poor from Odisha, Pradhan said.        

    

‘Govt’s inaction fuels anger among western Odisha people’

--Utkal Bharat demands full compensation to Lower Suktel displaced people

BHUBANESWAR: “Lack of political initiatives and Government’s inaction fuel anger among the western Odisha people as the much awaited Lower Suktel irrigation project, lifeline of Balangir’s agriculture, is yet to start its work,” said Utkal Bharat state president Kharvela Swain here on Saturday.

He said that the State Government is in the state of confusion though it has given recommendation to start the project area. From 1998 to 2012 is a long time to wait for the project, but why the Government is so greedy while compensating the poor tribals who would be displaced from the project area. Without starting the project work, the Government is giving a chance to create partition within the project area people, he alleged.

“If the State Government fails to solve the matters in an amicable manner with pro-people attitude, the people would think that they are neglected by the Government and especially the separate Koshal State agitation would get life with people’s anger,” Swain said.

Swain said the Government should send a responsible person and solve the problems of the displaced people immediately. Mostly, the people of other states do not agree to give land for any dam or irrigation project spontaneously, but the people of Balangir had given their active consent to give land after getting adequate compensation which is a good sign. Then why the Government do not listen them, he questioned.

 

Swain demanded the Government to increase the compensation amount from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per acre as a very meager amount is given as compensation to the displaced persons. “If the Government is giving Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the displaced persons at Paradip, why they don’t like to give Rs 4 lakh per acre at Balangir,” he said.

Swain in his five-point charter of demands mentioned that the Government should take over the left-out lands in the project area by providing adequate compensation, demarcate alternative lands immediately for displaced landless tribals and provide compensation to the displaced people before starting the project by which the trust deficit will decrease.        

Rangamatia murder case: Police yet to nab culprits

BHUBANESWAR: The Commissionerate Police are still clueless to get at the culprits involved in the Rangamatia murder case even though two days have already passed since the incident took place on Friday. Following the death of Ranjan Behera at a private hospital the same night, tension prevailed in the village under Mancheswar police station limit in the city.

According to sources, the village committee members had lodged FIR against five persons of the village for creating disturbance and threatening some youths during a Ganesh immersion procession on Wednesday night. The police came to the village after getting the  complaint and talked with committee members to solve the case amicably within the village.

Later, the culprits planned to attack Behera suspecting him as the police complainant. They brutally attacked Behera on Friday evening with a sharp weapon. Injured Behera was rushed to a private hospital in the city where he succumbed to grievous injuries.

Following the death of Behera, the villagers and his friends became furious and torched the cattle shed of a culprit and attacked houses of the other culprits. Senior police officials reached the spot and took stock of the situation. The police are investigating into the matter.