BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has witnessed all round development during the last 20 years because of the targeted, integrated and specific interventions of the Government. It was the unanimous opinion at a panel discussion on “Odisha on the move” organised by The New Indian Express on the occasion of launching of the book, “JUGGERNAUT Odisha On the Move” written by Consulting Editor of the paper Ravishankar.
Nistha Satyam, UN Women, Deputy Country Representative, India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka said among many initiatives of Odisha Government, the decision to politically empower women was important.
Stating that Government of Odisha made special efforts to respond to local needs, Satyam said several schemes including MAMATA, construction of hostels for girl students and KHUSI will help empower women. “Odisha is one of the few states which has addressed structural barriers,” he said.
Former Indian ambassador to Norway, Debraj Pradhan said there has been visible change towards better in Odisha and the State has now become a favoured destination for foreign investment. “The all-round development shows that Odisha is not on the move, it is on the run,” he said.
Pointing out that schemes like KALIA launched by Odisha Government for the benefit of farmers have received applause nationally, Suraj Kumar, founder member of Niti Foundation said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has now emerged as a ‘thought leader’ and Odisha has become a laboratory of ideas. The integrated disaster management, now known as Odisha model, has been adopted by Gujarat, Sri Lanka and Iran, Kumar said and added that there are many things to learn from it.
The panel discussion was moderated by Shashikumar Velath, executive trustee, Bridge Institute and Former Co CEO, Amnesty International.
Participating in the panel discussion on gender issues, Nitya Swaminathan Rao, senior lecturer, school of International Development University of East Anglia, UK said Odisha is front runner in women empowerment. He said though women are producers, they are yet to be recognised as farmers.
Lara Allen, CEO of Centre for Global Equality, a Cambridge-based civil society organisation, said middlemen should be done away with so that women farmers directly sell their produce to women self help groups.
Ranu Bhogal, head of Oxfam India said multi-lingual education policy should be introduced in tribal areas. She said the State Government should also regulate the health sector. Stating that land rights to tribals are yet to be recognised, Bhogal said if such a large number of people are denied land rights, fissures in society will deepen.
Anuprita Shukla, UNESCO Chair in Adult Literacy and Learning for Social Transformation also participated in the discussion. The panel discussion was moderated by Suraj Kumar, Founder Member, Niti Foundation.