KORAPUT: Kamala Pujari may have been conferred the coveted Padma Shri award by President Ramnath Kovind for preserving indigenous crop varieties in the region but Koraput administration did not deem it fit to even give her a proper welcome.The administration faced the ire of activists and intellectuals alike for felicitating Pujari outside the election office.
The felicitation was haphazardly organised when she was on the way to her village Patraput on return from Delhi.
Expressing his disappointment, Koraput-based social activist Ajit Patra said the administration should understand the dignity of the award and not undermine its value or Pujari’s contribution to the field of agriculture. Gopabandhu Seva Samiti president Bhabani Sankar Mishra said Pujari was not only the nation’s glory but also Odisha’s pride. “Her felicitation outside the office corridor is condemnable,” he said. Ranjan Dash, another social activist in the region, said Pujari was undermined because she hailed from a tribal community.
“At least ADM Deben Kumar Pradhan, who himself hails from the tribal community, should have invited her into his chamber and felicitated her,” he lamented, urging the Election Commission for necessary action. Pradhan said Pujari’s felicitation was organised in this manner because all offices were closed and the Collector was on election duty. Meanwhile, former Koraput Collector Gadadhar Parida has urged the district administration to arrange a separate occasion to felicitate her in a grand manner.