Baijayant gets ‘visit Kendrapara more’ plea
After a long gap, national BJP vice-president and former MP Baijayant Panda visited Kendrapara, his erstwhile karmabhoomi, recently. While the objective was to review the preparation for the 100th episode of PM ‘Mann Ki Baat’, his return to Kendrapara generated quite some curiosity.
Panda, who was elected twice from Kendrapara Lok Sabha as BJD candidate, had almost stopped visiting the constituency after joining BJP in 2019. A supporter did raise the question, to which Panda replied, “I used to spend at least 15 days of a month in Kendrapara when I was its MP. Now my party (BJP) has given me responsibility at the national level for which I have to travel to many states. Whenever I visit Odisha, I try my best to come here but have not been able to make it on many occasions.”
Another had a more sincere request. Replying to a tweet by Panda, he drew his attention to the inert BJP organisation in the constituency. “Please spend more time in Kendrapara like Sambit Patra is doing in Puri to win back the confidence of the people. You must visit all villages, meet people and spend money so that BJP will be revived,” said the respondent, who appeared to be a BJP worker.
~Bijoy Pradhan
Tathagat’s Shankha Bhavan visit creates a flutter
Former MP Tathagat Satpathy created a flutter by attending the inauguration of the ‘Shankha Bhavan’, the new BJD office, on Sunday. Satpathy was not seen in any of the BJD functions after his resignation from the party before the 2019 elections.
However, his presence in the function raised speculations over his comeback to active politics. It is also being heard that the BJD leadership is contemplating pitting him against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan if the latter contests from Dhenkanal and he agrees to rejoin BJD. For the time being, however, Satpathy continues with his earlier assertion not to contest the election.
“I attended the programme on the request of BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. I am not affiliated to any party,” he told mediapersons.
~Bijay Chaki
After keys, now ‘missing’ files cause a furore
Everything about Lord Jagannath is mystifying. Like the Lord himself and the 12th-century temple, known for some mysteries that defy any scientific explanation, incidents like missing keys of the treasury room and the recent missing files related to the temple administration continue to baffle many.
Even as the Puri administration claimed the duplicate keys of the treasury that were reported missing on April 4, 2018 - leading to massive public outrage, forcing the state government to order a judicial inquiry - were found in a locker in the district record room on June 13, the same year, the circumstances leading to the incident remains a mystery. Recently two files were reported missing.
They were, however, claimed to have been traced on April 22, a day after a delegation of BJP leaders led by Brahmagiri MLA Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra filed a police complaint. But, the fact whether the files were ‘routine’ in nature as claimed by the Law secretary or ‘important’ ones continues to be a mystery. As the department had to issue a frantic letter to all sections in its desperate attempt to trace the files for compliance with an order of Orissa High Court, the files surely could not be taken lightly.
~Hemant Rout
50% monsoon offer on Mo Khata
Caught in a catch-22 situation over excess production of ‘Mo Khata’, an organic fertiliser produced at micro-composting centres of urban local bodies (ULBs), the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department seems to be in a hurry to do away with the existing stock as early as possible.
While the ULBs have produced a substantial quantity of compost, they are now faced with a problem of plenty in absence of adequate storage space. With the monsoon approaching, the product may just be washed away or get spoilt.
Thus, the department has come up with the Monsoon offer, providing a 50 per cent discount to people on Mo Khata. The compost will now be offered at Rs 10 per kg against the usual price of Rs 20. The discount at this time may boost sales and popularise the brand, an official said.
~Sudarsan Maharana