CUTTACK: The stalemate over the corporators demand of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) commissioner Nikhil Pawan Kalyan’s transfer which had affected the functioning of the civic body, ended on Thursday with BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das intervening in the issue.
The 42 disgruntled BJD corporators were pacified by Das at a closed-door meeting in a hotel before noon following which they attended CMC’s eighth council meeting which was convened at 3 pm after a gap of two months. However, the meeting was marked by uproarious scenes with Congress and BJP corporators alleging widespread corruption in the organisation of the Baliaytra festival.
Trouble began right from the moment the meeting started on the agenda with Congress corporator Santosh Bhol asking why sub-committees were formed for organising the festival.
“The lower Baliyatra ground is yet to be cleaned. Why was an outsourcing agency engaged in cleaning the ground without floating tender even as CMC vehicles were deployed for the purpose? Why were members of different sub-committees formed for the Baliyatra festival ignored in planning and decision-making.”
BJP corporator Gagan Ojha also alleged massive corruption in holding the festival. “A BJD corporator’s relative was given tenders of different works for the festival. First, give us details of income and expenditure incurred on the festival and then discuss the agenda,” he said while demanding a Vigilance probe into the matter.
While mayor Subhas Singh tried to calm Ojha stating any corrupt practices would be ascertained in an audit, the latter picked up a glass of water from his table and threw it into the middle of the house interrupting the meeting for some time. The situation became normal after Kalyan assured the opposition corporators to initiate a probe into allegations of a relative of a BJD corporator having been awarded several tenders for Baliyatra.
Later, the discussion was held on the agenda especially on hosting the opening ceremony of FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup on January 11 at Barabati Stadium. Corporators cutting across the party lines who had boycotted meetings of two standing committees had threatened to boycott the CMC council meetings demanding the commissioner’s transfer for allegedly misbehaving with a senior female corporator of ruling BJD.