BALASORE: In yet another instance of increased youth participation in the upcoming panchayat elections, a second year MBA student in Balasore has stepped into the fray solely with the aim of doing public service and weeding out corruption.Pragyan Paramita Jena, a 22-year-old native of Chandaneswar village is the BJP candidate for Zilla Parishad member from Zone-35 of Hooghly gram panchayat under Bhograi block. Pragyan filed her nomination on Thursday before Balasore Sub-Collector Ashish Ishwar Patil.
Pragyan, a second year MBA student of Utkal University, believes that politics is the only way to reach out to people and serve them. With an aim to bring about a change in the governance system and root out corruption, the candidate said she also wants to ensure that public money is used for development and not to be pocketed by a corrupt few. “Nearly 90 per cent of the funds sanctioned for community development is misappropriated due to the nexus of department officials, bureaucrats and middlemen. With only 10 per cent left, one can only expect shoddy work to be carried out,” said Pragyan, who finished her schooling from Bholanath Vidyapeeth in Batsorisa village under the block in 2015.
Daughter of Rabindra Nath Jena, zonal president of BJP in Bhograi block, Pragyan intends to sort out the basic issues affecting people. “Many households in Bhograi do not have electricity and most places lack motorable roads. As a public representative, my aim will be to provide basic amenities like health, education, roads, potable drinking water supply and electricity to people,” she said and expressed gratitude to Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi for extending her all support.