Miscreants loot 5 lakh at gun point at Jatni

BHUBANESWAR: Some unidentified miscreants looted Rs 5 lakh from two collection agents at gun point near Jatni on the outskirts of the city on Monday. One of the agents got severely injured in the miscreants’ firing at the spot. Miscreants are absconding.

According to the Jatni police, collection agent Kedar Khatei and his colleague when returning from the city after collecting money from their customers, two persons near electric office at Jatni came to the front of the car and stopped the car. As soon as Khatei stopped the car, the miscreants robbed the agents at gun point. When the agents reluctant to give money, the miscreants started firing on the agents and took all the cash, police added.

Khatei received injuries as the miscreants fired on him. Two bullets were pierced in Khatei’s thigh and hand. He was rushed the hospital. Police investigation is on. 

   

     

DYO protests against frequent power cut in State

CUTTACK: Protesting frequent power cut in the State, members and supporters of the All India Democratic Youth Organisation (AIDYO) staged demonstration in front of the Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha (CESU) office here on Monday. Later the members of the AIDYO handed over a memorandum to the Energy Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak demanding solution to the problems.

The AIDYO members demanded that the Government should stop privatisation of power sector, rollback the decision of hike in power tariff, stop frequent power cut and collect right fee by fixing proper electricity meter in the households.

The members said the State Government had accepted privatisation in power sector by advocating development of the State and to check corruption in different official levels, but is proved wrong for the State. Problems are increasing day by day due to privatisation in power sector, they added.

The members said that without solving low voltage crisis, frequent power cut, proper connection to the households and avoiding corruption in the field of power generation and distribution, the companies have started hiking in power tariff.

Among others, AIDYO district secretary Sasmita Mohanty, secretary Deepak Das and State secretary Rajendra Burma took the lead of the demonstration.      

   

Student groups demand university election

--agitated Utkal students call off dharna  

BHUBANESWAR: Following the decision taken by the PG Council of the Utkal University to cancel this year’s Students’ Union election due to violence on the campus recently, the two rivalry student groups of the university on Sunday here demanded before the authority to rollback the decision of canceling the Students’ Union election for the current year.

The students injured on July 13 group-clash inside the Utkal University campus, who had staged indefinite dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan from July 14, called off the dharna on Sunday with the presence of leader of opposition in State Assembly Bhupinder Singh and Congress leader Soumyaranjan Patnaik.   

The injured student group came in a bike procession to the university campus with their other friends. During their entry to the university campus, the security officers and police forces didn’t give them permission to enter into the campus as a result scuffle between police officials and rivalry students’ group took place there. After a minor scuffle, the injured student groups entered to the university campus and went to their respective hostels.

The university authority held a meeting to bring peace in the campus. Students of the either rivalry group were present in the meeting. The students demanded the university authority should provide compensation and protection to the injured students, to arrest the culprits immediately and expel those students against whom they had lodged FIR. The authority reassured them to provide compensation and action against the culprits very soon.

On the hand, injured student Sangram Keshari Patra opposed the university authority’s decision to cancel the Students’ Union election. He said his friends were in the favour of Students’ Union election.   

“Students’ Union election is needed. To air the voice of the students and to make the university authority aware about the problems of the students, student leaders’ role is very important and the university should not stop the election,” said Utkal University Students’ Union president Tanmay Swain.    

It may be noted that on July 13, five students were injured in a group-clash between two student groups at the Utkal University campus here. The fall out originated from an argument regarding set up of a help desk in the campus.

Contractual nurses’ last hope CM’s decision

--strike enters 8th day, hospital services affected

BHUBANESWAR: The contractual nurses’ last hope is the Chief Minister’s decision that will finalise the proposal of regularising their service, said All Odisha Contractual Nurses Association (AOCNA) president Gangadhar Panigrahy here on Sunday. On Saturday the proposal of regularising the services of the contractual nurses has been placed before the Finance Department and the department will place it before the Chief Minister to recommend the proposal very soon, he added.

“If the Chief Minister declares to regularise the contractual nurses today, we would call off the strike right after the declaration,” said Panigrahy. The Government should understand the problems of the patients admitted in different Government hospitals across the State, he said adding, engaging inexperienced nurse students to run the hospital services any how in the SCB Medical College Hospital and other medical college hospitals are not the right thing.”

To bring back the nurses to hospitals, the State Government should fulfill their legitimate right very soon, AOCNA members demanded.   

The nurses have started indefinite dharna in front of the State Assembly from Tuesday demanding regularisation of services and hike in salary. The strike by contractual nurses entered the eighth day on Sunday while the services in Government hospitals across the State were affected and patients lay helpless.

Due to strike by 2,204 contractual nurses, services in the three Medical College Hospitals and other Government run hospitals were badly affected. The hospital authorities tried to somehow manage work engaging private nursing students as an alternative.

  

Contractual nurses criticize Health Minister a liar

--strike enters 7th day, hospital services affected

BHUBANESWAR: The All Odisha Contractual Nurses Association (AOCNA) on Saturday criticised the Health and Family Welfare Minister Prasanna Acharya calling him a liar for giving false media statement on Friday. Even the association argued that the State Government’s decision to regularise the contractual nurses after completion of six years of service contradicts the Apex court’s order which has stated earlier that three years experience needed to regularise an employee.

It may noted that on Friday Minister Acharya said that the proposal of regularising the services of the contractual nurses had been placed before the Finance Department so as to sanction for creation of equal number of contractual nursing sisters engaged in the Government Medical College Hospitals and periphery hospitals. But, actually he didn’t placed before the Finance Department on Friday alleged AOCNA president Gangadhar Panigrahy at a Press meet here on Saturday.

According to the AOCNA, 14,192 regular staff nurses are needed for the State according to the norms of the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), but the State Government has employed only 3,523 nurses till date. For the employment of the rest 10,669 staff nurses the Central Government also provides 80 per cent financial help, but why the State Government is delaying to regularise only 2,204 nurses, questioned Panigrahy.

In an office memorandum of the Finance Department passed on March 14, 2001, The vacant posts of Doctors and Nurses in Primary Health Centres, Hospitals and Medical colleges may be filled up without seeking prior concurrence of Finance Department, but why the Health Minister have been saying that they are placing the contractual nurses’ regularisation file before Finance Department, Panigrahy questioned.

Panigrahy said the Health Minister failed to implement the order of the Chief Minister who had ordered earlier to employ 6,963 regular staff nurse. He lashed out at the Minister for fixing six years for the regularisation of services of contractual nurses where the Supreme Court has fixed the time limit in three year.

It is the legitimate right of the contractual nurses, why the State Government is delaying in the process, asked Panigrhy adding, “The dharna will continue till our demands are not fulfilled.”

  

No Students’ Union election in Vani Vihar this year

BHUBANESWAR: It is really a bad news for the budding student politicians of the Utkal University as the PG Council of the university on Saturday decided to cancel this year’s Students’ Union election due to violence in the campus recently, said Utkal University PG Council chairman Prafulla Kumar Mishra.

In a meeting of the Heads of the departments presided by the PG Council chairman, the council decided to cancel this year’s Students’ Union election and formed some guidelines to make the university campus violence free. According to the PG Council chairman, the students having criminal records would be denied for admission in any of the departments of the university. If a student engaged himself in criminal activities, he will be expelled from the university, chairman Mishra added.

Mishra said they would form a guideline to check double PG system in the university due to which the students sell their allotted hostel room to other passed out students. These problems will be sorted out very soon, he added.

         

IAC Odisha to sit in indefinite dharna on July 25

BHUBANESWAR: Supporting anti-graft crusader Anna Hazaare and his team’s indefinite fast in New Delhi to demand an investigation against corruption charges leveled against 14 Cabinet ministers, India Against Corruption (IAC) Odisha chapter would stage statewide dharna on July 25.

According to the IAC, the fresh demand will go side by side during the dharna with the long-standing demands including strong Jan Lokpal Bill and appointment of Jan Lokayuktas in the States. After witnessing the recent mega corruption cases like 2G, CWG, Coal, Mining, Arms procurement and Adarsha Housing scams and the shoddy investigation by the State agencies, the Anna team call upon the supporters for a ‘Do or Die’ movement again to bring change in the country, it added.

IAC Odisha will organise a state-level fast-cum-dharna at Lower PMG from July 25. Two volunteers Nishikanta Mohapatra and Santosh Panda will be on indefinite fast till the achievements of the demand of setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) against corrupt ministers. A rally around Bhubaneswar city will start from Vani Vihar square on July 24. On the very next day the indefinite fast would start, the IAC member Nisikant Mohapatra said.