Plight of farmers in the age of plenty ..

 

It was extremely sad and tumultuous to read an article about farmers in Western Odisha destroying their cabbage crops on the field , as there is no market for the same . At present due to high yield of the culliflower (phoola kobi) , producers are forced to sell them to retailers at Rs 2.00 per kg . Cabbages require investments , namely for pesticides , and labour and when the market rates crashes , producers are doomed . In the past we have seen tomato and brinjal growers also , destroying their hard earned produce as there is no rate in the market and no place to store ….Farmers are the backbone of the country , says every lawmaker and we are all acquainted with the “Jai Jawan , Jai Kisan” slogan ..Pitiably there is no scheme or project to protect the financial interest of the agriculturists , who should be respected and honored for the hard labor they undertake …I daily see small time farmers carrying more than a quintal of culliflower , brinjal , tomatoe , etc on their broad shoulders , and selling the same getting 500.00 to 600.00 per day ..these small time farmers are now unable to get even 300.00 per day thanks to the price crash ..The Government has wonderful policies to support agriculturist , But Where is It ??? Our MLA , MP’s and ZP members all come from farming community or farming families , but they forget their own background once they get into the power lobby …Issues are raised in the Assembly and Parliament , only for cosmetic purpose ….Where are the much hyped Cold Storage facility ??? We have money to build huge buildings , hostels , religious places but when it come to construction of Cold Storage facilities we get cold feet …

 

 

 

Gujarat and Himanchal Pradesh results puts BJP and Congress on equal footing ..

 

The election results that were declared on the 7^th and 8^th of December 2022 , ha an interesting message from the voters for the political parties . AAP won MCD elections ,discarding the BJP which was in power for more than 15 years , BJP won Gujarat with record number of seats , and becoming the only party after CPI(M) in West Bengal to win for a record 7^th time and with a higher vote margin . AAP and Congress failed to make any dent on the influence of the BJP on Gujarat voters . Congress Party  caused a big upset , dismantling  the BJP rule in Himachal Pradesh . It is after many years the Grand Old Party has a reason to smile .Back home Biju Janata Dal candidate Barasarani trounced BJP strongman Pradipta Purohit  in a much hyped Bye Elections by a record 35000 votes . In the other Bye Elections BJP gained two seats at the expense of JD(U) and SP . On the other hand SP made a spectacular win in the traditional Rampuri seat , defeating BJP by a margin of 2.90 lacs . Congress made its presence felt in the two states they are in power , that is Rajasthan and Chatishgarh and retained both the seats during the Bye Election .

BJP have used the Gujarat victory , to highlight their popularity cleverly camouflaging , their unexpected loss to the Congress and in the evening the party celebrated their win with massive celebrations at New Delhi . In comparison the victory celebration by the Congress was muted and lacked conviction . I feel the Congress leaders are still unable to fathom , that they have won a state on their own ….

In Paralakhemundi the only political party  that showed some enthusiasm for the mini elections was the BJD , and the BJP leaders here for some reasons are not upbeat over the Gujarat victory …

 

 

 

Padmapur Bye-Elections a watershed in Odisha Politics..

 

 The voting to the Padmapur Bye Elections , will be a closely watched political affair  as it is bound to have an impact on the political scenario of Odisha . The Naveen Patnaik led government has had an uninterrupted regime of more than 20 years , and the way the ruling party was managing elections , opposition had no answers ..Dhamnagar results changed it all , and the difference of ten thousand between the winning BJP and the losing BJD candidate has come as an eye opener for the party . Naveen Patnaik was forced to be physically present with the voters and on December 2 when the CM reached Padmapur and promised to give the voters a District , the fear of losing another bye election was palpable .

If BJD wins the margin of victory will be closely dissected , as anything less than 5000 votes could be another warning to the party managers . If BJP wins , it could suddenly be free for all , as the Central Party , which coincidently is winning Gujarat , will smell blood and bay for it .The State and Central relationship , which has been extremely cordial , could change for once and all and the BJP state leaders will get a free hand to go hammer and tongs against the State Government .If BJP wins scores of Central Ministers will be regularly visiting Odisha and the sweet tone for the BJD regime is bound to change into a different unpalatable taste ….

 The formation of a new Municipality Council , courtesy , the BJD leadership had brought in lots of hope and inspiration amongst the local population of the town . Paralakhemundi is one of the Oldest Municipality of the state , as old as 110 years , but the Urban conditions have left a lot to desire . The town had one of the best drainage facilities , thanks to the early British planners , who utilized the higher elevation of the town , and the gravitational pull to decant the water down the drains into the Mahendrataneya River . Unfortunately this is now history , as unplanned constructions , ever expanding buildings , concrete jungle and encroachments have now resulted in chaotic flooding even after a few millimeters of rains . 

Encroachment is a generalized terminology , that can only be understood when there is a descriptive evaluation of the real time scenario . The main market is the best example of how the excess water from the various trading organisations was drained down to the last point of the town that is the Gopalapuram , located on the AP side . The drains that connected the main market was about six feet deep and three feet wide , and every debris could flow down without any obstacles . This is now a thing of the past , and the drains are choked , stopped , constructed upon .A couple of years back in the name of renovating the drains and creating a passage for the water flow several drains constructed by Municipality , were squeezed and narrowed down , thanks to the lack of foresight and selfish motivation . Interestingly none of the elected leaders of the Municipality in the past or present seem to have development close to their heart . It has been restricted to election extempore , and now the basic attitude is who will do the work and how much amount is being invested on a project .

Corruption is another subject that has been the bane of the Paralakhemundi Municipality . Right from the purchase of appliances to beautification activity , the people who are involved seem to be more concerned about the kickbacks they will receive . An example to cite is the Beautification of the Sankuri Bandha(pond) adjacent to the Kali Temple and Congress Office . Under the directions of the then Collector Mansi Nimbal , the project was undertaken . Stuffed  animals , lawns etc were laid out and the same became redundant within a year . The agency which had undertaken the job simply disappeared and refused to take up the management aspect . Street lights , sanitary equipment , cleaning materials etc are all purchased at exorbitant quotations , with hefty commission down the line .

Cleanliness , unkempt roads , unfinished roads , pot holes , leaking PHED pipes etc are the norms that are seen everywhere , but who cares??? 

Smart Phones , bane or boon....

It may sound a bit bizarre and unfounded , it is a fact that even today I use Keypad mobile phone . As a student I had great obsession for electronic gadgets like computer games , calculators , memory tabs , hand held computer games ,cordless phones , CD players and till recently mobile phones etc . I must have spent a fortune in my passion to own the latest electronic gadget , and it was probably four years back  I came across an article penned by a popular scientist who said that mobile phones will become the bane and curse for  the society . Detailing the rationale , he explained that despite everyone knowing that the radiation from the ‘Cell’ is harmful it has become an extension of our life . I took the article very seriously , and have curbed my usage of mobile , especially smart-phone sets. Today the mobile for me is an instrument to receive or send calls . Unfortunately not many people and friends subscribe to my views and thoughts , rather they argue that I am too traditional and irrational .I have not dared to rake up this subject with the young generation , lest they heckle me and call me ‘mad’ . One thing I have found out that after discarding my Android phone , I now have  a lot of time to read , write , converse etc . My Whatsup  and Facebook is less populated , and my Twitter handle lacks credibility while I have not taken up Instagram , Hike etc to name a few . For me it is more sense if one is more human and less of a Robot , and the sight of people pondering and pouring over their Smart phone sets at all improbable places , makes me pity them . What worries me is that , the over usage of the Smart phone sets has led to abnormal rise schizophrenia , migraine , short sightedness , hallucination , phobia etc .Anyway on the eve of the New Year 2018 , I thought that let me share this with friends and well wishers . Once more let us bid adieu to 2017 passionately .

Indian Army , too good for the Pakis..

 In a rare and defining moment , on the night of the Christmas a selected team of the Indian Army crossed the LOC , attacked a Pakistani position and killed four to eight enemy soldiers . This was a reply to the ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops who killed a Major and three Indian soldiers . India believes in peace , harmony , amity but we have now made it clear that our soldiers will not take Pakistan’s overture by remaining quite . The response was a clear indication of the India Governments decision that there is shift in our thoughts and it will be an “ Eye for an Eye” .The strikes that was conducted on the night of 25^th Dec was precise , non provocative and above all proved the superiority of the Indian Army . It makes me remember a dialogue of a Hindi Cinema I had seem a few years back when Sunny Deol as a Major in the film says to his Pakistani counterpart “ if the population of India urinate, Pakistan will be flooded” . Why I am deliberating on this , it makes me really sad when a defence personnel is killed on duty . We are at peace with all neighbouring countries , but Pakistan continues to be pricking us just to ferment trouble and keep us busy . The Prime Minister Narendra Modiji , did his best to manage patience and restrain and now India will strike back . I am happy that the change in our External Policies , augurs well as far as meeting the challenges of the countries enemies . The message is loud and clear to the entire world , Indian Army is the Best . Happy New Year ..     

                         The Peoples (Lok) Utsav , revisiting the Gajapati Utsav ....pride of the District ,

Gajapati Utsav , since its inception in 2001 has had held the pride of place as a leading cultural festival of this District . After the state government set up a policy to have District Level festivals , almost all the Districts of the state have their own cultural fests , and some like the Mandei Pareba  etc have made a reputations for themselves . Lok Utsav as the cultural festival is now popularly called , has ably showcased the efforts of the government in various spheres , and is also a very big forum to interact with the public . Gajapati Utsav along with the block level Utsav , has been extremely popular because there are a very few such cultural activities for this district . As far as one can recollect , the largest number of people gathering in this town is the Gajapati Utsav after the Rath Yatra . Previously the Utsav was organised at the SKCG College Ground , and with the lack of  space and the unhelpful attitude of the college authorities , the same has been shifted to the Gajapati Stadium . The Gajapati Utsav has been very close to the heart of the people of this district because of the close involvement of the mainstream public in the various affairs of the Lok Utsav . Right from the Panchayat Level where various cultural troupes come to the Block to participate in the programme , to the District Level there is total participation . It may be unbelievable to see the large crowds that turn out for the Block Utsav where the functions go on into the early morning of the next day . The local BDO , Tahsidar , Block Chairman and the other officials of the block get so much involved in this jamboree , it is to be seen to be believed . Similarly Gajapati Utsav has become a folklore and its history is now embedded with many interesting happenings . This is an event where the public has an excess to the several officers , and the cooperation of the public and administration has been the success ‘mantra’ of the Gajapati Utsav . I have been very closely and fervently associated with the past Utsav’s and laud the efforts of the various District Collectors who have toiled hard for the event . This year the Gajapati Utsav which is being reintroduced again , after a gap of three years , will be a resounding success no doubt . The District administration will find a big platform , to showcase the several government programmes for the general mass , and the cultural events will be the most popular events . Gajapati District has a rich heritage of culture namely tribal dance and songs . Unfortunately the artists from the rural areas get very little scope to harness their talent , and the Gajapati Utsav gives them an opportunity to exhibit their flair and genius before a large gathering . A tribal boy from the far flung Aliganda village of the Mohona Block or a girl from the Rayagada Block , will find the opportunity to dance or sing before an unimaginable crowd . Similarly the Palishree Mela should owe its success to the Gajapati Utsav cultural events . Without the culture programmes , there will be practically no gathering as the organisers of the Mela have found out in the last three years . The Pali Shree Melas , turned out to be damp squib and the stall sales dipped because there was very limited footfall at the ground . The most memorable moments of the previous Utsavs have been the closing ceremony , where finale will witness the District administration , organisers and the members of the public dancing together to the popular modern tunes , waiting for the next Utsav with all optimism . The never dying spirit of Gajapati is showcased in this Utsav , where people enjoy for three continuous days .

Debashis Padhi ,Journalist ,Cell- 9437176353 , mitupadhi@rediffmail.com .