MP Nagendra Vents Anger On Scribes For Talking To Collector First
BJD MP from Sambalpur Nagendra Pradhan today berated TV journalists as they sought the byte of the Collector first during Veer Surendra Sai’s birth anniversary celebration here in the city today.
“Tell me, who is more important? People’s representative or bureaucrat? Is Chief Secretary important or Chief Minister? Who are the TV journalists to decide whether a bureaucrat will speak first or representative?” asked Pradhan in a raised voice.
Asking the reporters to record his byte, the MP said the representatives formulate the legislation and the officers are appointed only to execute them. He refused to give any statement to the journalists until the media personnel sought an apology from him.
The parliamentarian accused the journalists of getting advertisements from the Collectors for their respective media houses. “You all preferred the byte of Collector first because you get advertisement from him. We know better than the bureaucrats as we are making schemes. Can’t we clarify on that?” Pradhan asked.
His reaction came after some reporters sought a byte from the Collector about implementation of government scheme in the district before talking to the parliamentarian.
Meanwhile, senior BJD leader and former minister Damodar Rout backed the MP for such reaction. “It is decency to interview the elected representative first when he is present on an occasion. Those who want to take the byte of an administrative officer first lack trust on the democracy,” Rout said.
Bus accident in sambalpur
Four persons were killed and 32 others injured after a bus they were travelling in skidded off a bridge near Goudapalli village in Sambalpur district last night.
As per sources, the ‘Maa Vaishnodevi’ bus was on its way to Rairangpur from Sambalpur when the driver reportedly lost control of the bus and it fell off the bridge.
Locals, police personnel and fire brigade reached at the spot immediately and started rescue operations in presence of Sambalpur Collector, SP and Tehsildar.
The rescue operations went on for nearly four hours after which the injured were rushed to Sambalpur District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) and Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Burla.
The deceased were identified as Ranjan Meher from Bijepur, Gopalchandra Mahant from Keonjhar, Saroj Routray from Puri and Dilip Sahu from Keonjhar. The death toll is likely to increase as many of the injured were in critical conditions.
Sambalpur Collector, SP and Tehsildar also visited the hospitals to check health status of the injured passengers.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for kin of those killed in the accident. He also announced free medical checkup for the injured passengers.
Dawn-to-dusk shutdown in Odisha after Kunduli gang rape victim commits suicide
Normal life was hit across Odisha today due to a dawn-to-dusk shutdown called separately by the Congress and the BJP to seek justice for a 14-year-old tribal girl who committed suicide after alleging rape by four men in uniform three months ago.
Shops, business establishments, markets, offices, banks and financial institutions remained shut, while vehicular movement came to a grinding halt across the state during the shutdown, police said.
Many trains were stopped at different places including Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, and Bhadrak as strike supporters staged rail roko leaving a large number of passengers stranded.
Roads wore a deserted look all over and buses also stayed off roads fearing violence.
Schools and colleges across the state remained closed for the safety of students, while examinations scheduled for the day would be shifted to a suitable date, officials said.
The impact of the bandh was also felt in Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Rourkela, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Koraput.
After the tribal girl ended her life on Monday, Congress called for dawn-to-dusk state-wide bandh, while BJP is observing a 12-hour strike from 6 am demanding a CBI probe into the whole episode and action against culprits.
Congress also demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the moral ground following the suicide of the girl.
Senior BJP leaders including Surama Padhi and Pratap Sarangi also blamed the chief minister for the tragedy and said the stir over the issue would be intensified.
Speed trial on Godbhaga-Debahal new double railway line
Today 23rd Jan 2018, the speed trial on the new double railway lines between Godbhaga-Debahal station of sambalpur division will be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway safety, Pramod Kumar Achary in betweeen 9AM to 5PM.
Its a request from railway to the general public that not go near or cross the railway line on the specified time.
Kalahandi acid attack: Main accused arrested from Andhra Pradesh
In a major breakthrough, police on Sunday nabbed the main accused involved in the acid attack on a 22-year-old girl in Kalampur under Jaipatana police in Kalahandi district on January 15th.
The accused identified as Parshuram Majhi of Bankapada village was arrested by a police team from neighboring Andhra Pradesh.
According to sources, a police team which had gone to Rangareddy district on Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, managed to nab Majhi on Sunday. The accused would be brought to Odisha on transit remand. Parshuram has several other cases pending against him, said police.
Notably, the jilted youth threw acid on the girl after she rejected his love proposal. She was first rushed to Kalampur CHC with burn injuries on her face and hands and then shifted to the District Hospital and subsequently to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack.
