Interview of Odisha Congress chief Prasad Harichandan

My crown of thorns to turn a Cong crowned with glory: Prasad

Me with PCC president Prasad Harichandan

He is a rare figure in the State Congress having no factional leaning. He is also one of the few sane voices in the party like Leader of Opposition in Assembly Narasingha Mishra. No wonder, Prasad Harichandan’s nomination as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president by the party high command has been widely hailed in the State organisation. A comparatively young leader, he is viewed as the one who can inspire the youths in the party and breathe vibration into the organisation. He talked to Hemanta Kumar Pradhan of The Pioneer in an interview on Thursday.

From a boy of Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das’ land of Satyabadi to become Odisha chief of a national party, how do you feel?

A boy feels blessed who is born in the land of Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das. I feel humbled by the assignment given by my esteemed leader Cong president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Don’t you feel that you are donning a crown of thorns given the present state of affairs in the party?

The crown of thorns is a reminder of two things: It is exceedingly painful; and it goes with sufferings. If it is set on my head, I’m willing to endure the pain and shall bear the sufferings. Ultimately, the Congress will be crowned with glory, honour and victory.

It is a long perception that your party has several groups working in their ways. Can you end factionalism in your party?

In any democratic party, you find plurality with regard to any political proposition. But if this turns to division of opinions then the wall of factionalism is ‘raised’. We will moderate such differences to minimal possible level so that the wall of factionalism is ‘razed’. Of course, it’s a daunting business, but we shall try to do it.

After the party’s serial electoral defeats, confidence of Congress workers is on the wane. How can you revive the party and what is your plan to instil confidence among party workers?

True, the four successive defeats have demotivated the party cadres. The vote share of the party has dropped. We have to recharge our cadres, utilise their potentials, exploit the advantages in favour of the party and, thus, chart out a way forward aiming at winning the 2019 elections. For this, we will rebuild the party structure from the grassroots, design a clear and coherent strategy to revive the party. We shall present a vision for the State to fulfil people’s aspirations. We have to identify issues which will persuade people and make them feel that our party is with them in their time of need.

(Takes a pause)

Now, a structured organisation has to be rebuilt with emphasis at the booth level. The continuing membership drive will be widespread bringing youth, women, dalits, tribals, farmers and others in the State into our party fold. We will come out and hit the street to make the people understand about the State Government’s misdeeds, scams. We will organise the party workers and come out on the streets across the State as it will show us road of change. The party, which will be geared up for the Panchayati Raj elections in 2017, will make a roadmap for the party’s success.

Do you feel the seniors who didn’t get the coveted PCC chief post will sincerely work under you?

There are very senior and eminent leaders in the party who are way ahead of me in all respects. They are our guides, mentors and philosophers. Rather, I’ll work with them. Rather, they will allow me to work with them. In an organisation, more in a grand old party like Congress, it is imperative to bridge the widening generational gap. We will bring young and elder leaders together. The senior leaders will guide to design programmes and strategies and the young cadres and leaders will make it happen.

How do you see the BJD Government’s performance?

The years of the BJD rule is full with huge performance deficit, massive governance failures, mega scams and major scandals and scores of unmet aspirations. The Government is excessively bureaucratised and ineffective and there has hardly been a visible impetus to developmental activists. Ruling the State for almost 15 years, BJD has caused only miseries for its 4.2 crore people by its misgovernance.

Yes, the Government has received rims of spaces in print media and uncountable timeslots in electronic media for its ‘best performances’ in chit fund scam, mining scam and the very recent land and house allotment scam.

Now, farmers are waiting in the market yards for procurement of their paddy with a hope to get a good price for their produce, but the State has left the farmers’ fate in the hand of the millers. The situation of migrant labourers is horrible and the recent death of a man from Boudh stunned the State. If the State has done a good job then why farmers commit suicide every year and why people migrate to other States in search of work? Is there any proper answer to my questions with the State Government?

The interview was published in The Pioneer English daily on December 19, 2014  

No relief for Ganjam hilly villagers from lone rough road

--Not repaired properly; authorities churlish

BRAHMAPUR: For the villagers of Podagada, Jhatipadar, N Barapalli and Raghunathpur under Ramagarh gram panchayat in Ganjam block, a good motorable road is still a far cry. Except a three-km-long slush road, the villages surrounded by mountains have no other alternative roads to connect to the National Highway-5 at Palur Junction, 37 km away from here.

Around 4,000 villagers depend on the road which was in precarious condition. The rural road has become a headache for the people of these villages as it has hundreds of potholes and substandard works of stone chips making the road a hell for commuters. According to villager Rabi Narayan Pradhan of Jhatipadar, a portion of the shoddy mud road had been constructed in 2002 after several years of struggle. Surprisingly, the constructed portion had become rough after two years, he added.

Again a contractor got the road tender and had started repairing another portion of the road. “We were happy about the construction of the road, but after a few days of the work, the contractor left it halfway by only scattering black stone chips on the road,” said a villager of Podagada. “Anyhow the road was manageable to commute before construction, but after this it became rough to very rough. The strong black stone chips scattered all over the road starting from its beginning to the end created problems for vehicles and commuters,” said Duryodhan Sahu of Podagada village.

Youths from the villages said the hired auto-rickshaws or cars take more money to come to their villages only for the deadly road. “If we hire vehicles like auto-rickshaw or taxi at night, some of them don’t come fearing the road’s condition,” said Basanta Pallai of Podagada.

“Some children and elderly persons of the four villages got injured in accidents which took place on this road,” said an old woman of N Barapalli village and added that the ambulance take almost double time to cross the road while taking a patient to a hospital. “It’s horrible to drive the vehicles on this road. We always pray god while taking a heart patient to the hospital,” said an auto-rickshaw driver Golak Kumar Sahu.

Pradhan said the State Government with the help the World Bank had sanctioned a multi-purpose cyclone shelter along with an all weather road to Podagada and Jhatipadar a few years back. The cyclone shelter work has been completed, but the road work is yet to be started, he added.

“We have been demanding for the construction of the road, but nobody is paying heed to our demands,” said Duryodhan, adding, “When we asked Executive Engineer (RW-II Division, Brahmapur) about status of the road, he informed us that a contractor had challenged the tender process in the court as a result of which the work was not taking off.” When contacted, Engineer-in-Chief (Civil) got angry and pleaded not to disturb him for a silly matter.

The story was published in The Pioneer English daily on November 6, 2014  

‘Aim to touch millions of hearts’- A tale of two city slum kids

BHUBANESWAR: Unlike Switzerland, people residing here don’t obey zebra crossing rules on the roads. The European country is very kind  towards its children,” said Rupak Gouda and Jasmin Nisa of Science Park slum in the city, who had attended a children conference held at Caux in Switzerland recently.

The two children, who are active members of the Humara Bachpan child club, took a pause and said they saw several good initiatives taken by the Swiss Government for children. Their transportation system was child-friendly and living condition was also good, they added.

“An elderly people also says sorry for committing a minor mistake in that country which I found very educative and inspiring,” said Rupak, a +2 first year student reading in city-based Acharya Harihar College.

We were listening to Rupak and Jasmin’s success story in a small house in the slum which was connected with a narrow road slashed by small drains connected with dingy houses. When we asked Rupak about his feelings towards slum, the boy stopped smiling and said he had raised the issues related to the awful living conditions in Bhubaneswar slums in three international conferences held in New Delhi, Switzerland and Hyderabad.

In the conferences, Rupak and Jasmin had raised eight points related to slum problems including housing, water, sanitation, public space, electricity and public transport. “Living condition is very bad in the slums. We cannot get a good space for playing for which we feel dull,” said Rupak, adding, “The sewerage and drainage problems in the slums create breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other germs as a result of which we fall ill most of the time.”

Jasmin, a Class IX student of Unit-IX Government Girls High School in the city, said they have several child clubs in different slums of the city. Child advocates of the clubs meet together and discuss about different problems of slums. After discussion, they meet people’s representatives and Government officials to solve problems of their area, she added.

“Two years back, I had joined the club formed by Humara Bachpan campaign. The campaign helped me attend international child conferences to represent Bhubaneswar,” said Jasmin.

The duo said a group of children from different slums had met Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Anant Narayan Jena recently and discussed about different issues related to children. “We were very happy that the Mayor behaved with us like a normal friend and lent his ears to our grievances,” they added.

Jasmin, who wanted to be a social activist and fight for rights of slum people living in the country, said the Government should ensure that every girl child of the slums gets education and equal rights.

Rupak, who wants to be an aeronautical engineer to help the Indian Air Force, said every children of the country have rights to get education, live with dignity and get basic necessities which should be guaranteed by the Government. “We have been raising this point in every forum that the Government should help us in improving our living condition,” he added.

The duo was also selected to meet the President of India on the occasion of Children’s Day on November 15. They would represent the State in the national level.

The smiling little girl and the talented boy came with us to the end of the slum road to say goodbye. While leaving the place, Jasmin’s words, “Aim to touch million of hearts” were reverberating in my mind.

The story was published in The Pioneer English daily on November 5, 2014 

Revisiting cyclonic storm Phailin

Twin disaster after Phailin hit Odisha hard

Cover story for The Pioneer, October 18, 2013

When Odisha was trying to stand straight after 1999 super cyclone that battered the State badly and had claimed over 10,000 lives, the recent twin disaster (cyclone and flood) after Phailin hit Odisha coast on October 12 night shook the backbones of people of the State. Though the State Government’s well preparedness saved lakhs of lives, but the livelihood of Odias and infrastructure of the State would take years for reconstruction. Hemanta Kumar Pradhan gives a picture of Phailin affected Odisha.

--The cyclonic storm known as Phailin was the deadliest storm after Super Cyclone in the Bay of Bengal that hit Odisha Coast on October 29 in 1999. 

A deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal on October 8 crossed the Andaman Islands near Mayabandar on October 9 and it strengthened into a cyclonic storm. Then it gradually gained speed and turned into a severe cyclonic storm the very next day. As it gathered speed, it later became a very severe cyclonic storm on October 11 and made landfall at Gopalpur in Odisha at 9 pm on October 12 with a maximum sustaining speed of 210-220 kmph gusting to 240 kmph along and off districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara of coastal Odisha. 

According to prediction of the Indian Meterological Department (IMD), Phailin hit the coastal areas the hardest and indulged in the dance of destruction. Due to the effect storm surge with height of 3.0 to 3.5 metre above astronomical tide entered low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts of the State during landfall. Even water from the Chilika Lake entered several villages situated at the bank of the largest brackish water lake of Asia during the cyclone. Phailin caused heavy-to-extreme damages in its path of destruction by uprooting trees, destroying kutcha and asbestos houses, telephone towers, electric poles and transformers, standing crops, fishermen boats and fishing equipment and roadside vending shops. Many pucca houses were also damaged when uprooted trees fell down on it.

It was a sigh of relief for the State Government that human casualties could be minimised due to large scale evacuation of people from coastal districts which is believed as world’s largest evacuation. The massive evacuation was undertaken by administration, field officers, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), Naval and Army personnel. Before hitting of cyclone all people from vulnerable areas were evacuated for which the human causality could be minimised to 21. Near about 9.84 lakh people had been evacuated to flood and cyclone centers in the affected districts, said Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patro.

As per preliminary estimation, 26 lakh trees have been destroyed in the State by the cyclone. As Ganjam district was in the eye of the Phailin, near about 2.4 lakh kachha houses and 2.68 lakh hectares of crops in the district alone have been damaged, said District Collector Dr Krishan Kumar. Schools were severely damaged in the district, he added. 

Official sources estimated the loss at more than Rs 3,400 crore in this district alone. Power infrastructure has been damaged to a great extent at the tune of Rs 900 crore. The entire power infrastructure is totally lost, the Narendrapur Grid, which provides power to five districts, has been damaged severely, said State Energy Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena.

South Odisha’s big city Brahmapur city and nerve centre of education Berhampur University was devastated in storm. Ganjam and various places of its neighbouring districts have been spending life without electricity. It would take three weeks to restore electricity in Brahmapur city, but the rural areas of the affected districts would take more than a month, said Jena.    

One of the most serious problems is huge loss of livelihood. Fishermen of cyclone affected coastal districts including Ganjam, Puri and Khurda lost their boats, fishing nets and catamarans along with their houses. Farmers lost standing crop, betel vine yards, sugarcane, salt farming, kewda grooves and horticulture crops including mango, coconuts and huge cashew plants. “I lost all the cashew plants of my two-acre groove. It shattered my hope to run my family,” said a farmer Gaura Pradhan of Podagada village in Ganjam district.

“I lost my fishing boat, nets during the storm. It left me in a heap of loan and I have to go Tamilnadu in search of labour work to feed my two children,” said Ch Sathiaga of Podampetta village of Ganjam district. 

After devastating coastal districts, cyclonic storm Phailin created flood in North Odisha. Due to the effect of Phailin, heavy down pour occurred at upper areas of Budhabalanga, Subarnarekha, Brahmani and Baitarani and a few small rivers in North Odisha which created flood and inundated Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar and a few areas of Kendrapada, Puri, Khurda and Ganjam. Surprisingly, North Odisha town Baripada engulfed with water, while Baleswar district was severely affected in the flood. Most of the villages of Bhograi, Baliapal, Remuna, Jaleswar and Basta block were submerged in flood water. The condition of these people worsened when water not receded for consecutive three days. 

The relief team failed to enter the cut-off areas. The State Government, who was not allegedly prepared for a sudden flood due to effect of the Phailin, faced a lot of problems and engaged Airforce team to airdrop relief materials. Meanwhile, the administration rescued many people from the flood affected areas by Navy, NDRF and ODRAF personnel. 

In Mayurbhanj, people agitated against the Government for not providing relief materials. In Baleswar and Ganjam district also people expressed anger against the State Government for not supplying relief in time. Relief supply was a difficult task for the State due to lack of enough relief material with the State.  

Though the State Government was lauded by the United Nations Organisation (UNO), World Bank, national and international bodies for successful tackling cyclonic storm Phailin, preparedness for flood a day after the storm exposed Government’s lack of attentiveness. 

Opposition parties criticised the Government for not supplying adequate relief materials and assistance. Thousands of flood affected people stayed at the roadsides in miserable condition. The people could not get drinking water and food materials in time. In some districts were running out of dry foods available with the administration. Poor people were shocked after witnessing their houses washed away in front of them.

“I lost my house in the flood. My family is in problem, but I didn’t get any help from the State Government,” said Purnachandra Pradhan of Charada village of Basta block in Baleswar district. Another villager Upendra Maharana said that they are in fear when they knew that low pressure rain would occur in North Odisha also. “How can I live under open sky,” he lamented.

Though the detailed report is yet to come, preliminary estimation said the twin calamity of cyclone and the resultant floods affected over 1.24 crore people of 17 districts of the State as more than 11.54 lakh people were evacuated to safe places, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Mohapatra said. Cost of total damage was estimated at around Rs 14,500 crore, said the officials.

Due to heavy flood, 27 people died and about 11 lakh hectares of standing crop has been damaged as flood water stayed more than seven days. Near about 5, 41,200 houses in 17 districts have been damaged in twin disaster and out of which around two lakh houses completely destroyed. Around 1500 big domestic animal, 3002 small domestic animals and 1, 71,000 fowls died in the calamities.

Infrastructure including all type of roads, bridges, schools, irrigation projects, drainage channels, canals, community centres and dams were severely damaged in the twin calamities. Preliminary estimation said 5,825 schools have been affected as a result school may take more time to open, sources said. Fishermen have received heavy loss as 10,126 shrimp and fish hatchery, 6209 boats and 9622 fishing nets have been affected in cyclone and flood, official sources said.    

Due to Phailin, official sources said, power connection lost to 45,960 villages. Though the State Government has restored many villages, over 21,000 villages are still in dark. Energy Minister Arun Sahoo said that as many as 222 Feeder line had been damaged, four lakh poles were completely broken or uprooted. In Berhampur area (severely affected by cyclone) as many as 20,000 poles have been damaged, he said.

Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami visited the State on October 20 and reviewed the situation. The State Government submitted a memorandum incorporating the details of damage due to the twin calamity to the Union Government seeking an estimated Rs 4,242.41 crore assistance towards restoration of damaged infrastructure and other assistance. Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking a preliminary assistance of Rs 1523 crore to expedite relief and restoration work.

It’s not the end of the story. Another flood was waiting for the twin disaster hit Odisha. Under the influence of a well marked low pressure over south coastal Andhra Pradesh adjoining West Central Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood, rain battered the State from October 22 to 27 which caused flood in several districts of the State.

Due to the fresh flood, near about 81.30 lakh of 10,722 villages in 13 districts (Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, Baleswar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur) have been affected. Around 1.98 lakh hectares of crop area has been affected and 4.07 lakh houses have been damaged due to incessant rain and resultant flood. Total 15 people died in the flood, while 1.91 lakh people were evacuated from the affected areas by the State Government.

Fully devastated Ganjam during cyclone became worst hit due to the flood. Near about 22 lakh people have been affected in the calamity. Rain water overflowed on the railway track passing through the district. Eleven rivers in the district witnessed water crossing danger level. Most of the low-lying areas in Berhampur city submerged.

Again the State Government on October 28 submitted a supplementary memorandum to the Union Government seeking Rs 1,590.09 crore of additional assistance out of the National Disaster Relief Fund required for relief and restoration measures, particularly in the flood-hit districts. The memorandum was handed over to Joint Secretary of Union Home Ministry Rashmi Goel who is heading an Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) of nine members to assess the loss due to cyclone and floods in the State.

Most of the political and social organisations raised eyebrow on the Central Government for not sanctioning a single pie to continue relief and restoration work in spite of the State Government’s request.

After two harrowing weeks, sky cleared and sun shined in the affected areas. The hard working people were trying to repair their houses at least to see their children safe. No doubt the damaged houses could be built and the crop could be raised, but the wound may take years to heal.