Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
This posting is a prelude to a scam to be discussed in my next article.
The posting is positioned on a prime plot of Bhubaneswar that the location map furnished below highlights.
A few meters away from the Raj Bhawan (Orissa Governors official residence) on the north-western side and Sachivalaya (State Secretariat) on the north side), nearby VVIP/VIP bungalows where ministers to top officials stay, on the second street behind Bhubaneswar Club, and the back street of Bhubaneswar Kala Kendra, is this location where a gowala (milkman) has encroached about half an acre government land operating a huge illegal dairy there to the total detriment of health of the local residents since October 2004. Another gowala had started a small size dairy there which he dismantled in June 2004 due perhaps to objections raised before the Director of Estates. The area remained vacant for a few months till this encroacher stepped in. Below is the picture of the dairy under the present operator taken on 15 November 2004.
This was then many meters distant from where the Autopsy Rd was crossing the Kala Kendra Rd and the cowsheds of the gowala were standing on the 3rd street behind Bhubaneswar Club. He was drying cow dung cakes on the uneven open space lying between the cowshed and Kala Kendra road. The following picture shows the distance of the cowshed from the Kala Kendra Rd and Autopsy Rd crossing.
The man seen walking towards the cowshed is former Additional Director of Estates. The picture was taken in the morning on 18 April 2008. On the very same day, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had started dumping collected debris on this uneven plot to make it level for the gowala to use. The picture below shows how the gowala had started drying dung cakes on unloaded heaps of the debris.
And then the encroachment expanded. The gowala having encroached the left side of the Kala Kendra Road from the east, crossed the same to use its right side for drying the dung cakes.
The picture below was taken this morning. It shows how it has reached the Kala Kendra Road within these years.
And, see below, how free passage on the road has been blocked by high heaps of cow dung.
This is only one instance. The entire city of Bhubaneswar is afflicted with health hazard by running of such cowsheds by milkmen on encroached prime government plots, despite the Municipal Corporation Act 2003 having banned keeping of cows and buffaloes, goats and sheep.
I will discuss the issue in my next posting.