The year of Christian era that just ended gave Orissa a lot of frustration but this brave soil not only withstood that but also made marks in the field of letters, science and sports. It was a year of bad days and bright days. Our team recapitulates some of these.
JANUARY
03: A postal employee received bleeding injuries and the city a shock as a bomb in a parcel pack exploded in the post office attached to the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology.
08. Motivated or not, the vigilance police interrogated former ministers Nalinikanta Mohanty, Prasanta Kumar Nanda and Dr. Kamala Das.
09. Misappropriation of a crore of Rupees in the Suvarnarekha Irrigation Project being prima facie established, the vigilance organization initiated penal action against the Chief Engineer.
19. Resma Mohapatra of Jajpur was nominated for posthumous bestowal of National award for Bravery.
20. Civil construction of any kind banned within 100 meters from the Konarka Temple.
25. The Atomic missile Agni successfully test fired.
30. The Trisul missile test fired successfully.
FEBRUARY
01. The Local Self Government of Bhubaneswar superseded.
02. Rash act of police kills an innocent man at Simulia when the bus he was boarding was whimsically fired at. Two members of the police force responsible for the illegal and uncalled for action were suspended.
15. Sudarshana Pattanayak of Puri bagged Gold Medal for the best-sculptured sand statue.
18. Former Chief Minister J.B.Patnaik who is also a doyen of journalism is selected for the coveted Central Sahitya Academy Award.
20. The Sarala Sammana is bagged by Srinibas Udgata
27. (a) Indian national Congress wins over the highest numbers of nine Zilla Parishads follwed by BJD in seven and BJP in two.
(b) A pregnant woman and her baby child were severely affected as the Police officer of Mahakalapada P.S. threw on them hot scum of rice with criminal intent.
MARCH
05. Eminent Odissi dancer Mira Das got the eighth Mahari Samman.
13. In the elections for posts of Presidents in Zilla Parisads,BJD succeeded in 12, vis-à-vis the Congress (10),BJP(7) and JMN(1).
14. Adulterated Saline injection causes casualty and resultant panic in SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack.
16. Orissa Legislative Assembly desecrated by demonstrators from the camp of BJP.
17. As many as 67 miscreants belonging to Biswa Hindu Parisad and Vajrang Dal were arrested and forwarded by Police for having attacked the Orissa Assembly even as 21 members of the police force including 2 Deputy Superintendents got orders of suspension from service for their failure to prevent the said miscreants.
21. Minister of Panchayati Raj assured the Assembly to accord semi-official status to the Gram Panchayat Secretaries.
27. Horse trading came to be known as the trademark of a group of MLAs belonging to the BJP in the business of election to the Rajya Sabha that saw Dillip Ray elected.
30. Officer-in-charge of Kanpur Police Station, in the Athgarh Sub-Division of Cuttack raped and extinguished life of a lady constable who was unmarried but carrying, an event that revealed the sorry state of affaire in the police force of the State.
APRIL
05. Privilege motion pressed against Collector of Bolangir in Orissa Assembly.
11. Angul severely hit by hailstorm.
15. His Bihar counterpart assures Orissa Revenue Minister that the landed properties of Lord Jagannatha lying within the geographical limits of his State shall be restored to the Lord.
18. Wild elephants intrude into the enclosures of Tiger Safari;Nandanakanana in doldrums.
22. J.B.Pattanaik becomes a permanet invitee to central working committee of Congress.
23. Non-vegetarian dishes banned on the Badadanda zone of Puri.
24. The culprits in Chhabirani murder case in the long last punished by the Supreme Court.
27. BJP ousts 7 MLAs from the party, charging them of disloyalty, as they had crossed the floor in support of Dillip Ray.
28. Supersonoc missile test fired successfully from Chandipur.
29. Two of the gang that raped Anjana Misra, the estranged wife of an I.F.S.officer are found guilty and given life imrisonment.
30. Orissa High Court passed orders for direct purchase of paddy from cultivators by the State government. *State government resolves to set up a vigilance commission and corresponding special courts for curbing corruption.
MAY
05. Remnants of the Simghaprastha Bouddha Vihar discovered from Udayagiri through excavation.
07. Self driven missile Laskhya testfired from Chandipur.
19. The State experienced unprecedented heat-wave.20 persons succumbed.
25. Starvation death reported from Kalahandi.
27. Srnibas Udgata and Uttam Pradhan felicitated with Sarala Samman.
28. Purna Chandra Hota appointed Chairman of Union Public Service Commission.
JUNE
02. BJD wins the Bhadrak bi-election.
03. Minister Bhagawat Behera passed away.
16. Roof of the kitchen hall of the Sun temple in Sri Mandira campus of Puri caved in causing dislocation in the Deitys daily rituals.
20. Orissa High Court issues orders for penal action against hotels that pollute the Puri sea beach.
21. Vigillance charge sheets filed against Santosh Mishra, I.A.S.
JULY
04. Widow of Bhagavat Behera wins by-election to Assembly from her late husbands constituency, Nayagarh.
07. I.A.S. officer Rajamani is drawn into prosecution under charges of corruption in handling rice earmarked for people below poverty line.
08. Charge-sheets filed against Nalini Kumar Mohanty, Prasanta Nanda and Kamala Das found prima facie guilty as they were in events of corruption.
16. Vigillance organization files charge-sheet against I.A.S. officer Madan Mohanty and former Minister Bijoy Mohapatra.
17. Students of Vir Surendra Sai Medical College, Burla were brutally beaten up by the WESCO authorities through their security force in order to choke their protests against undeclared power cut.
23. An oestrus hippopotamus in Nandana kanana zoological gardens succumbed to injuries caused by a mail in musth.
25. Missile strikes five fishermen to death at Chandipur.
26. Atanu Sabyasachi is appointed President of Biju Juva Janata Dal.
AUGUST
05. Ministers M/S Duryodhan Majhi, Amar Prasad Satpathy, Devi Misra ans A.P.Singh resigned on instructions from the Chief Ministerat the eve of resuffle in Sate Cabinet.
06. Ramkrisna Pattanaik embarrassed by being relieved of the finance portfolio and resigns.
08. George Tirki resigns from the position of general secretary of BJD in protest against non-inclusion in the State Cabinet.
09. Kumudini Pattanaik, wife of Ramakrisna Pattanaik along with two other M.P.s M/S Pravat Samantray and Jagannath Mallik suspended from BJD due to alleged anti-party activities.
10. State government identified 283 out of 314 Blocs as draught affected.
11. Manoj Kumar Kar of village Sankarakul in the district of Jajpur becomes a martyr while guarding the Boarder
19. J.B.Pattanaik gets National Sahitya Academy award 2001 for having enriched Oriya literature through translation.
21. Paschimeswar Jena gets Guru Kelu Charan Mahapatra Samman for his contributions to Odissi music.
25. Guru Gangadhar Pradhan gets the Sanjukta Panigrahi Jatiya Samman 2002 for his contributions to Odissi dance.
27. A village mechanic of Sonepur builds up prototype of a train that runs only on air pressure.
SEPTEMBER
07. State government enhances the amount of cash award to the best sports person of the year to Rupees one lakh.
15. As many as four persons succumb to slow starvation at Adaba village precipitated by intaking of mango carnel.
16. State government contributes Rupees Five Crore the Sri Mandira Temple Fund.
19. Orissa Band in protest against central governments conspiracy to privatize NALCO.
20. Suspended M.P.s of BJD held a mass rally at Hinjili in a show of strength.
21. Ramkrishna Pattanaik ousted from BJD.
23. Monsoon session of Orissa Legislative Assembly begins.
25. Independent MLA Manas Mallik beaten up in the well of the Assembly by treasure bench members in presence of the Chief Minister and shifted to Hospital in critical condition.
OCTOBER
07. A Public Interest Litigation challenging the selection of persons for State Sahitya Academy Awards is taken up for admission.
12. The Revenue and Excise Department is identified as the most corrupt in the Report of the State Vigilance Organization.
22. Six more Colleges get autonomous status.
24. Founder of Universal Peace Mission Sri Mentu Maharaj passes away.
25. Atanu Sabyasachi appointed only on 27.7.2002 as President of Biju Juva Janata Dal is forced to resign under charges of numerous malfeasances.
29. The Rebel M.P. of BJD, Prasanna Acharya is declared as the new leader of its Parliament wing.
30. B.S.N.L. starts its delayed Mobile Phone services in Orissa.
NOVEMBER
13. President of Orissa Police Association was caught red-handed while receiving bribe and arrested.
14. Bankim Chandra Naik is felicitated with Sri Jagannatha Sammana-2002 for his contribution to Children literature.
16.Rebel M.P.s M/S Pravat Samantray, Kumudini Pattanaik and Jagannath Mallik ousted from BJD.
17. Legendary singer Askhaya Mohanty passes away.
29. Communal conflict over collection of support money in the context of Id.
DECEMBER
01. The World AIDS Day submerges under streams of malpractices in its funds management which is revealed by the sex workers in a street demonstration. This gives M.L.A.s to point accusing fingers at Secretary of Health Ms. Mina Gupta and Director of AIDS cell Ms. Ranjana Chopra, both I.A.S. officers during debates in the Assembly.
15. Elephant herds hailing from the Chandaka Sanctuary kills a man at Naharakanta adjacent to National Highway between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
16. Kickbacks to the tune of 400 crore suspected in the recycling operation of rice meant for people below the poverty line; mill owners, ministers and officers-both of state government and Food Corporation of India hand-in-glove in the matter. The Assembly hears acrimonious demands for debate on the issue.
17. Assembly in doldrums over entry of foreigners representing American A.E.S.Co. in to the privileges of officers gallery without any authority when the House was to take up a debate on mismanagement of the energy sector after privatization wherein the said company had played a pernicious role. Privilege motion is also notified against Ms.Mina Gupta and Ms.Ranjana Chopra , both I.A.S. officers in the context of the contemptuous attitude they had shown when Members took up the issue of corruption in management of AIDS Funds.
18. Cabinet resolves to enhance the salary and allowances of Ministers and MLAs and other authorities of the Assembly including consequential pension. The song captioned Vande Utkala Janani authored by Kanta Kavi Laxmikanta Mohapatra earns Speakers directions to be honoured as the National Anthem of Orissa.
21. Sarat Mohanty selected for central Sahitya Academy Award for his book Gandhi Manisha.
28. Orissa Legislative Assembly selects Sukinda MLA Sri Prafulla Ghadei as the best legislator of the year when in its views, Sri Banamali Das, the legendary Communist leader was the best member of the House so far.
29. For the first time in Orissa, a seating President of the State Public Service Commission is suspended for his doubtful conduct. He is Hadibandhu Mirdha.