This Week Orissa: Floods for tourism…

…and for politics

With 21 of Orissa’s 30 districts hit by two spells of floods,the Congress has demanded a special session of the Assembly to discuss the calamity. In the last few weeks,the BJP and the Congress have been alleging that the government did not discharge water from the Hirakud reservoir in time and suddenly opened a large number of sluice gates,resulting in heavy flooding in the Mahanadi basin. “All of a sudden,water was released through 59 gates of the dam,a quantum jump from 36 gates,” OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said. “We want a special session of the Assembly as it affects the lives of lakhs of farmers,” said Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh. “A special session of the Assembly is generally convened during emergencies; about 75 lakh people were hit by this calamity,” said the party’s chief whip Prasad Harichandan.

Biju invoked again

If Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is naming projects and establishments after his father,beleaguered BJD leader Damodar Rout is trying to rebuild his career by floating an outfit with Biju’s name. Rout,who was removed from the Naveen Patnaik cabinet in May this year,reportedly at the insistence of the CM’s principal adviser,has launched the Biju Bichar Manch,an “apolitical outfit that would spread the ideology and principles of Biju Patnaik”. But the launch on October 11 was a tepid affair as almost all BJD leaders boycotted the programme. BJD leaders say Rout is itching for political martyrdom hoping that Naveen throws him out for “anti-party activities”,but neither the Chief Minister nor his adviser has reacted.