Column | Window Seat

Puri, now

I was in Puri just two days before DebasnanaPurnima, little over a month and half before Nabakalebara, the mega event which is expected to attract millions of devotees to this small town. The entire town seemed to be dug up throwing all traffic into utter chaos. Residents of Puri are fed up with the incomplete road and drainage works, which seem to go on for ever. Look at the accompanying photographs taken by Ashok Panda on the morning of SnanaPurnima and you will realise what am I taking about. Compounding their woe is ceaseless power disruptions.
The entire town wears a shabby look, with debris thrown by the roadside, waste water flowing on the road from choked drains, small kiosks selling everything from fast food to trinkets practically everywhere in the town. The road from Bhubaneswar to Puri is still incomplete. The two rail crossings are proving to be major bottle necks. The double lining of railway tracks is far from complete. I strongly suspect the delay in finishing many of these works, especially the road and drainage work in Puri town is deliberate. In the last minute hurry many works will be covered up with substandard job at an exorbitant price. The temple, Srimandira, the centre of attraction looked unkempt. Inside, it was crowded beyond its carrying capacity. Even then people were partaking abhada (prasad) inside the temple, blocking pathways. There were far too many police persons, many of them clueless about what they were supposed to do.
Nabakalebara is just round the corner. and Puri is in a mess. Only a miracle can save it from sliding into a chaos.

Near the Hospital at Puri badadanda. Photo: Ashok Panda

Decentralised Planning 

Recently I attended a Media Workshop on Decentralised Planning: Development and Mass Media. I was to deliberate on the role of media in decentralised planning and development and to focus on the challenges and opportunities in reporting this. The workshop was organised by Govt. of India and UNDP. That the Govt. has woken up to decentralised planning and implementation is in itself an encouraging sign. The good intentions have not yet shown any practical impact at the ground level is another story.
I feel there are just four issues which impede decentralisation of planning and execution.
a. Socio-psychological condition of people both at the grass roots and at the bureaucracy and higher political domain
b. Administrative bottle necks
c. Capacity Building
d. Financial Decentralisation.
These four issues need to be sorted out, or at least engaged with for decentralisation.

Tailpiece 1: Sun 

Kaas, Surajkivibiwihoti…. To use toda to control me rakhti… (If Sun had a wife, then she would have kept in some control)

Tailpiece 2: Maggi

Q: What is the gender of Maggi? A: Male. It gets ready in 2 minutes. (Courtesy: A social media forward)

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3 June 2015

Journalist turned media academician MrinalChatterjee also writes fiction. He lives in Dhenkanal. He can be contacted at mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
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