Politics over police-villagers clash begins

--BJP, Cong visit Keonjhar village

 
BHUBANESWAR: Four days after the violent clash between the police and villagers of Belabahali in Keonjhar over the construction of a proposed bridge on the Kosei River, opposition parties Congress and BJP made a beeline to the village to take stock of the situation. 
 

On Saturday, leaders of the BJP led by party’s State president KV Singh Deo arrived at the village to show their solidarity to the villagers who have been protesting the bridge on the river.   

The leaders met the villagers and then staged a meeting in the village to hear from the people about their problems after the clash. The villagers demanded early release of their people who were arrested by the police on June 7 in connection with the police-mob clash. 

Singh Deo said the police have arrested 113 people and sent them to jail in the case. “If the State Government does not release the arrested persons immediately, we will set out a foot-march (padyatra) from Belabahali to Bhubaneswar to gherao Naveen Niwas,” he added.

Similarly, a Congress team led by Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Prasad Harichandan had visited the place on Friday.

The Congress leaders said the agitation would be intensified if the State Government fails to pay attention to the demands of villagers.    

“The State Government should listen to the ordeal of villagers of four panchayats about the location of the bridge over the Kosei river. If the State doesn’t pay heed to their demands, we will intensify the agitation not only in Keonjhar but also in the State Assembly,” said Harichandan to the media.

Meanwhile, BJD leader and Rural Development Minister Badri Narayan Patra said the whole district wants the bridge to be built at the notified land opposed by the Belabahali village. “The bridge was notified during Congress regime. Why the Congress leaders, who are shedding crocodile tears for the villagers now, didn’t inform their Government to change the location then,” asked Patra.     

Chit fund scam: CBI team in Nuapada

NUAPADA: The CBI probing the chit fund scam in the State visited the Nuapada police station on Saturday to investigate the alleged fraudulent collection of deposits by the Rose Valley Corporation, one of the 44 ponzi firm probed by the Central investigating agency.

A two-member team interrogated some police officers, who had raided the offices of the company and had seized documents following complaints against it. The team minutely went through the documents seized during the raids on the Kolkata headquartered company in 2013-14. 

Notably, the company had allegedly duped depositors of around Rs 15 lakh in Nuapada area. The CBI team reportedly sought information on the case from the investigating officer.

The company has its wide presence not only in Odisha but also in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and other States. It was alleged that the company have collected around Rs 24,000 crore from its investors.

The firm came into the limelight following the Saradha scam, which broke in early 2013. The Corporate Affairs Ministry had named the Rose Valley as one of the 73 companies involved in ponzi schemes in West Bengal the same year.

Odisha aims at achieving 19 lakh new contraceptive users by 2020

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has set a target to achieve 19 lakh new contraceptive users by 2020 as part of FP2020 Vision in order to prevent both unwanted pregnancies and limit the family.

It was informed by Health and Family Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak here on Saturday.

  

“We are taking various steps to stabilise population of the State. As a matter of pride, our State has been awarded for good show in a national summit. We have prepared a vision document for 2020 to sterilize 19 lakh people,” Nayak said.

The department data said the State has yielded good results in controlling population including sharp reduction in total fertility rate (TFR), a most important indicator in population control programme. The TFR rate has decreased from a shocking high of 4.7 to 2.1 against the national average of 2.3.

Health and Family Welfare department Principal Secretary Arti Ahuja said the State Government has undertaken several measures in order to strengthen the family planning programme to achieve the FP2020 target.

“We are planning to involve more people in population stabilisation programme and working for reduction of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in the State,” said Ahuja.

The department has undertaken initiatives in increasing the post-partum contraceptive services through both promotion of family planning counselling and services by facility based service providers, which has resulted in significant increase in post-partum contraceptive acceptance.

The department data shows that more than 36,347 PPIUCD insertions have been done within 48 hours post-delivery at the health facility by trained service providers in 2014-15 against merely 4,818 in the year 2013-14. The department claimed this as an indication of the success of the measures being undertaken by it for family planning.

To justify its claim of good show in population control in the State, the department data shows Odisha’s decadal growth rate has decreased from 16.25 per cent (Census-2001) to 13.97 per cent (Census-2011) which is lower than the national average (17.64 per cent). It also claimed that birth rate has been decreased to 20.1 in 2011 from 23.5 in 2001.

Chit fund scam: Swastik India offices in State raided by CBI

-- Scribes assaulted during CBI raid in city, ponzi firm chief held

BHUBANESWAR: The CBI probing the chit fund scam in the State on Tuesday conducted raids at the offices of Swastik India Multi State Credit Cooperative, a major player in the chit fund scam in the State.

The CBI sleuths conducted raid at 12 different places across the State. They raided Badagada residence of company’s chairman Ranjan Das, who was earlier arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in chit fund scam and out on bail.

The team also raided company’s offices at Nayapalli, Baramunda and Laxmisagar in the city, sources said.

Besides Bhubaneswar, the CBI team also conducted raids at various paces in Baleswar, Bhadrak, Sundargarh and Jharsuguda.

During the CBI raid at Das’s house (MB-83) at Badagada Brit Colony here, personal security guards of the company chairman assaulted three journalists while they were collecting report about CBI raid.

According to reports, the three journalists, ETV reporter Subhrakanta Padhiary, Odia daily Samay photographer Jitendra Mohanty and of Odia daily Dharitri photographer Manoranjan Mishra, were manhandled by Das’s security guards when they took photographs and reports of CBI raids on the house. 

Mohanty said Das and his aides attacked him and two other journalists while they were covering the CBI raid on Swastik India chief’s residence. He was kept confined inside the house for at least 20 minutes before the police came to his rescue, he added.

Following the incident, the Commissionerate Police arrested Das. Badagada IIC Suvendu Sinha said he would be produced in a court here later in the day.

While Badagada police have registered a case against Das, his wife has filed a case in the same police station alleging that the journalists molested her.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP and managing editor of The Samay Ranjib Biswal has strongly condemned the assault on journalists. “Ranjan Das is an accused in the chit fund scam and is out on bail. His bail should be immediately revoked and he should be sent back to jail again,” said Biswal.

Similarly, Dhenkanal MP and editor of The Dharitri Tathagat Satpathy also reached the Badagada police station to discuss about the matter.

Treason case against Sabyasachi challenged in court

BRAHMAPUR: Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda on Monday filed a petition in the court of Additional District Judge-II, Brahmapur challenging treason case framed by the police and allowed by the State Government against him.

Panda’s lawyer Deepak Patnaik had filed the petition in the court. In the petition, the lawyer said the police had framed the treason case on the basis of a case (GR case no-809/2011) lodged in 2011. The police had framed the charge in its chargesheet against Panda filed in January this year, he said.

Patnaik said the State Government had gotten permission from the Centre in 2012 to frame treason case against Panda. But the case was lodged much before the State Government’s move to bring permission from the Centre on the issue. “So he can’t be charged with treason case,” he added.

The court received the petition and would hear the case on July 16. 

Mahanadi-Godavari interlinking project opposed

BHUBANESWAR: Activists of the State on Tuesday strongly opposed the Mahanadi-Godavari river interlinking project by alleging that it would not be beneficial for Odisha. 

Briefing reporters at a Press conference organised by the National Institute of Development (NID) here, activist Tapan Padhi and journalist Bibhuti Pati said that the project would help Andhra Pradesh at the cost of Odisha.

To justify the claim, the duo argued that Andhra Pradesh would get 710.6 crore cubic metre water (58.4 per cent) out of the total 1216.5 crore cubic metre water which is proposed to be harvested by the project. According to the proposal, if the Centre constructs link canal after building a dam on the Manibhadra River, canal’s 30-km area would be in Odisha and 526 km in Andhra Pradesh, they added.

“Due to the project, around one lakh family would be directly affected. The project would submerge 63,003 hectares of farming land, 4000 hectares of reserve forest and 5520 hectares of village jungles and destroy the habitat of thousands of wild life animals. After bearing so much of loss, why will we support the project?” asked the activists.    

The State was told that the Central project would irrigate 3,5,786 hectares of agricultural land and would control flood in the Mahanadi basin, but how can the State compromise with the Centre for a few sops by losing so much of its resources, said Sahu.

Activist Tapan Padhi said the State Government has to carry out a study to know whether the Mahanadi has surplus water or not. “It is seen that most of the time the river remains dry. How can it give 710.6 crore cubic water to Godavari?” he added.

Sahu said the State didn’t get any positive response from the Centre in Polavaram issue. “We are going to lose several villages of Odisha due to the project which will help Andhra Pradesh. Now the interlinking project will also help the neighbouring State instead of ours,” said Sahu.     

Hemant Sharma replaces Suresh Mohapatra as energy secretary

BHUBANESWAR: After appointing senior IPS officer Soumendra Kumar Priyadarshi as new Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for Nabakalebar festival, the State Government on Monday assigned Hemant Sharma as new Special Secretary Energy replacing Suresh Mohapatra. 
 

Mohapatra, a 1985 batch IAS officer and was the OSD for Nabakelebara, would remain in Puri as Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) till end of the Rath Yatra.  

Priyadarshi, a 1995 batch IPS officer, would have overall supervision during the Rath Yatra.

Notably, Sharma (1995 batch IAS officer) is also CMD of the Gridco and the OPTCL.

The State Government also appointed 2002 batch IAS officer William Bilung as Registrar of the OUAT. He was Additional Secretary of the Science and Technology Department.