SAMBALPUR: Western Odisha was news in 2016 mostly for wrong reasons and Kalahandi district took the cake with the Dana Majhi incident overshadowing other grim incidents of the region.
The nation woke up to the shock after television channels on August 24 flashed visuals of Dana Majhi carrying the body of his wife, Amangdei on his shoulders back to his village from Bhawanipatna District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) where she died. He had covered almost 10 kms till some Samaritans arranged a vehicle to ferry the body.
Moved by Dana’s plight Bahrain Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa donated `9 lakh. Dana’s action and support for him from different sections of the society and world-wide led the State Government to launch ‘Mahaprayana’ scheme.
On the other hand, heightened activities of Maoists in the district reflected the deep inroads made by the banned Left Ultra outfit in the district. On the positive side, however, the year saw six Maoist cadres, including women members, surrender before district police on different occasions. Security forces killed five women cadres and busted several rebel camps during exchange of fire with the Maoists twice. In retaliation, Maoists set on fire construction equipment in contractors’ camps and killed three persons terming them as police informers.
Another issue which made international headlines was the State Government moving the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision of Gram Sabha on bauxite mining in Niyamgiri Hills only to be rejected. The decision brought cheers among the primitive Dongria Kondhs who inhabit the Niyamgiri Hills in small hamlets spread over the district of Kalahandi and Rayagada.
Towards the year end, the life conviction of eight persons who had brutally chopped off the palm of migrant labourers raked a debate on whether it will deter torture and exploitation of the migrants. The life sentence to perpetrators of injustice to migrant workers overshadowed the story of Sarojini of Nuapada district whom poverty forced to leave behind the body of her husband in the train at Nagpur on way back home after he fell sick.
In a major accident that shook the State, 27 members of an Opera Party died after the bus they were travelling in fell from Gayal Ghat in Deogarh district on April 17. The vehicle, registered under the Cuttack RTO, had no insurance and was plying without fitness certificate and necessary permit.
On the politics front, pelting of eggs in Deogarh on the cavalcade of former Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak in the district set a trend and Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy and Handloom and Textile Minister, Snehangini Chhuria met with same treatment in Balangir district. This apart after closing its eyes to the encroachment by gangster Timan Kumbhar and his school teacher mentor Khirod Mishra, police demolished illegal construction over the land and took possession of it.
Although Jharsuguda district saw two of its major steel plants Action Ispat and MSP Metallicks shut down along with its captive power plants in absence of raw materials, Union Coal Secretary Anil Swarup laid foundation stone for a 10 MTP per year coal washery to be developed at an estimated cost of ` 396 crore.
While Congress MLA Naba Kisore Das and WODC Chairman Kishore Mohanty remained at loggerheads trying to prove supremacy, Das managed to get approval for construction of four rail overbridges in Jharsuguda town from the Indian Railways. He also paved way for setting up of a Cardiac Care Super Speciality Hospital on PPP mode.
But, it was construction of barrages on river Mahanadi and Kelo which saw visit of Ministers and political leaders to the district enroute neighbouring Chhattisgarh for an on the spot assessment. While uncertainty looms over the water flow in the two rivers during non-monsoon period, it has become a pet issue with all political parties.
On the crime front, unidentified miscreants fled with `86 lakh from Bank of India in broad daylight even as there was no major law and order situation.
Despite being saddled with numerous problem, Boudh district shot into limelight in July after BJP activists were roughed up by BJD MLAs and leaders accompanying Minister Sanjay Dasburma after being shown black flag while on a visit to the district. Even as the year came towards the end, people were up against plans to go ahead with Manibhadra Dam in Harbhanga block of the district. It was tumultuous year for Bargarh district which registered a record number of suicides by farmers over failed crop in 2015.
Peeved over the indifferent attitude of the Centre over Mahanadi issue, local BJD leaders protested the visit of Union Handloom and Textile Minister Santosh Gangwar to the district and it took an ugly turn when stones were pelted at his car and the window shield broke. Black flags were also shown.
The milk producers of the district protested apathy of the OMFED authorities and drained down lakhs of litres of milk on the road to express their unhappiness at rejection of milk by OMFED on grounds of quality.
On the health front a youth was robbed of his kidney after manipulation of documents while medicines worth lakhs of rupees was left to rot on the roof of the District Headquarter Hospital meant for distribution to patients. On the other hand, police busted theft of ornaments worth ` 55 lakh besides `40 lakh cash from Bank of Baroda. Similarly, unidentified miscreants decamped with `16.45 lakh and ornaments worth ` 1.4 crore from Ruchida branch of State Bank of India.
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