Orissa Matters

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

My son Saswat was born on Pahili Raja, Orissa’s unique festival of social oneness, on 13 June 1977.

The day is alive in my mind.

Prof. Dr. Sujata Mohanty, a relation, was looking after my wife. Expected Day of Delivery (EDD) was 13 June 1977. A few days before the expected day, she had left for Puttaparthi to her Guru Sathya Sai Baba, assuring me that though the EDD was 13th, the delivery would take more time and by then, she should have come back.

There was rampant private practice at that time. Unless paid in their homes or private clinics, Doctors were not even looking at the patients in the hospitals and there was massive jealousy and rivalry amongst them too in having private patients.
Read more →

Roving Reporter

The famous S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack is now equipped with NAT screening facility at its attached Blood Bank, which would ensure purest possible blood to its innumerable patients needing blood transfusion to save their lives.

The facility was launched on 10th June as per program by the State’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mr. Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, who also holds the Information and Public Relations portfolio. Chief of the Blood Bank Dr. Pankaj Parida, and top brass of the Medical College were present on the occasion and welcomed the launching. The event was graced by MLA Debasish Samantaray.

It is Cuttack, where the High Court of Orissa had, in a landmark judgment on 28th July, 2011, issued a mandamus for installation of NAT facility in every Blood Bank to ensure pure blood to patients, as the outdated systems in vogue were evidently incapable of detecting all the pernicious viruses like HIV in their window period, as a result of which innocent patients were getting afflicted with AIDS.

The mandarins of Health department having slept over the mandamus, this site had exposed the matter on 8th July 2012 and continued to harp on it, provoking the then Opposition Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan to raise the issue through an adjournment motion in Orissa Legislative Assembly. It was taken up on 1st September 2012 and the Minister of Health Dr Damodar Raut, as he then was, in answering the adjournment motion, had assured the House to provide the facility in phased manner, with the three Government Medical Colleges and the Capital Hospital getting it in the first phase.

But it took long four years to materialize.

The facility is established in PPP mode with the State Government partnering with Roche Diagnostics India, considered the country’s in-vitro diagnostics market leader.

However, though the delay in commissioning the NAT technology is regrettable, the most pleasing and noteworthy part of the project is that, on suggestions of the Health Minister Mr. Nayak, Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Patnaik has bestowed upon the patients the facility to have NAT tested pure blood absolutely free of cost.

Hence it is viewed as beginning of a new era of responsible healthcare in Orissa.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

In an interaction with rightwing intellectuals at Bhuaneswar in the evening of 10th June, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari informed that the central government is to add a second port at Paradip at the current estimated cost of Rs.8200 crores to equip it with 325 MT capacity by 2025. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd will be asked to enhance its coal exploitation to 300 million tons, the entire of which shall be transported to Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra and Gujarat for thermal power plants through ships, he declared.

This would bring in severe disaster for Orissa.

This splendid land will be completely denuded of her natural resources by such mindless mining.

To divert public attention from such disastrous design of Modi Government, fringes are being suddenly developed to pursue issues such as prohibition.

Thinking minds of Orissa should come together and call for a total stoppage of mining in interest of the future generations.

Bhubaneswar Bureau

June 9, 2016 would stay a red-letter day in history of health care in the capital city of Orissa, as Minister of Health and Family Welfare as well as Information and Public Relations Mr. Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak inaugurated the Roche NAT Blood Screening Project in PPP mode at the Red Cross Blood Bank attached to Capital Hospital, Bhubaneshwar ending a long phase of incubation over a High Court direction in this regard issued on 28 July 2011. In this venture, Orissa Government partners with Roche Diagnostics India to enable access to safe blood across the State

A boy of only 17 months of Baramba region in the district of Cuttack was afflicted with AIDS after receiving transfusion on operation table and Orissa High Court had imposed cash punishment on the State Government holding the blood supplied by the Municipal Corporation Blood Bank as infected with HIV in window period. It was found in course of hearing that unless blood is screened by NAT PCR technology, HIV virus in window period may escape detection and cause AIDS in unsuspecting and innocent patients. Therefore the High Court had issued a mandamus for blood testing through NAT. But, as is their wont, Orissa bureaucracy slept over the mandamus.

ORISSA MATTERS exposed this criminal negligence and did it repeatedly. The then Opposition Chief whip Sri Prasad Harichandan questioned the nonchalance of the government by subjecting the issue to an adjournment motion on September 1, 2012. Health Minister Dr. Damodar Raut, as he then was, regretted the delay and assured to install the facility at least in the three government medical colleges and the capital hospital, to begin with.

On taking over as Health Minister, Sri Nayak was shocked to see that the department was far behind from implementing his predecessor’s as well as the High Court’s order, when unsafe blood was creating havoc, as exposed in the High Court ruling. On September 19, 2014 he issued an order to the Secretary to ensure that the live-saving orders are executed without further delay.

So, when today, after such a big lapse of time, NAT technology is launched in Bhubaneswar, it can be safely said that Mr. Nayak has launched a revolutionary phase of concerned and dedicated healthcare in the State.

“We are happy to bring the Roche NAT solution to Orissa. This is a firm step towards our Government’s commitment to providing quality healthcare in the State. With this technology, we can be sure that people of Orissa will get access to safe blood in State Blood Banks. Safe blood is the foundation of healthy living. I am happy that such safe blood will now be available to everybody in our State through our Blood Banks” he said while launching the facility.

On this occasion, Dr. Sandeep Sewlikar, Head of the department of Medical and Scientific Affairs of Roche Diagnostics India said, “World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that, in India there is a shortage of 3 million units of blood against the annual need of 12 million units. In such a shortage situation, the quality of blood being transfused generally is not the prime focus. However, if blood screening is not done with NAT technology or if the transfusion procedure is unsafe, life-saving blood can lead to life-threatening ‘transfusion transmitted infections’ (TTI), besides causing other serious adverse reactions. The issue of safe blood transfusion and stringent quality checks is a concern equally critical as shortage of blood, and needs to be addressed.” Elaborating upon the facility, he further disclosed that, as a screening technology, NAT has proven effective in detecting window period cases of viral infections.

NAT or Nucleic acid testing (NAT) solution enables screening of donated blood, to reduce the risk of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) in people receiving blood. This is the first time that NAT technology is being introduced in the State of Orissa.

The State Government through its partnership with Roche Diagnostics India, have already launched the facility at VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla and would be launching the facilities at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack tomorrow and MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur shortly.

The introduction of NAT will significantly reduce TTI associated morbidity and mortality. Additionally, it will also have a positive health economic effect of reduction in State’s and personal expenditure on treatment and hospitalization due to TTIs, the experts say.

Orissa’s Tourism & Culture Minister, Ashok Chandra Panda, Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani, MP., Mr. Priyadarshi Mishra, MLA, Bijaya Kumar Mohanty, MLA, Mr. Ananta Narayan Jena, Mayor, BMC, Bhubaneswar, Mrs. Arti Ahuja, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Niranjan Sahu, Collector, Khurda were present amongst others.

Government Pressnote

In the wake of regular pre-monsoon showers in the city
causing water-logging situations, Minister for Housing and Urban Development Sj. Pushpendra Singh Deo took a preparatory meeting with the officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Drainage Division, Public Works Department, Odisha Fire Services, JICA and OWSSB.

The following decisions were taken in the meeting:

1. A joint visit by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Drainage Division across the city, identified 27 vulnerable points. ( List annexed)

2. Tender for de-silting of the 10 major drainage channels has already been floated by the Water Resources Department. The same will be opened on 10 th June and work will be completed by the end of 30th June.

3. Cleaning and de-silting of secondary and tertiary drains under the BMC jurisdiction is already in progress. While work in 57 wards of the city is being done by sanitation contractors under the supervision of the City Health officer. Engineering Division of BMC is taking up the work in rest 10 BMC-managed wards.

4. All the 27 vulnerable pockets will be divided among the three administrative zones of the BMC and will be monitored by respective three Zonal Deputy Commissioners (ZDCs) for effective and time-bound redressal.

5. A Control Room or Cell will become operational at the BMC central office at Gautam Nagar for the mitigation or management of any emergency situation.

6. To manage water logging situations adequate mobile pumps shall be arranged with the help from Odisha Fire Services.

7. The Public Works Department authorities will take up the cleaning work of the drains under their control as well and open adequate vents, so that rain water from the PWD roads can freely flow into the adjacent drains.

8. For immediate measures in case of blockage of drains by uprooting of trees or congestion of drains by plastic, paper or other waste materials even in case of major drainage channels, one JCB for each zone will be provided throughout the monsoon season.

9. Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) shall be contacted in case of any emergency. Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) will be intimated as and when required.

10. A rapid Action Team will be operational for each zone of BMC by City

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seems to have developed a wrong notion that governance of Orissa in Oriya depends upon his mercy. His press-note of December 17 and full page display advertisement in major broadsheets of today force us to arrive at this apprehension.

In his December 17 press note it was declared that he had held a meeting with the five members of the ministerial committee on that day for the purpose of “strictly implementing the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 in official and non-official level” to facilitate which a website has been floated by the government. In the full page multi-color advertisement in broadsheet dailies today, this is intriguingly missing.

The advertisement is designed to tell the people that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has taken historical steps to save and develop Oriya language, and has enumerated the steps he has taken. This is blatant lie. Neither he nor his government has executed any single item claimed to be “historical” in the official advertisement. The entire advertisement is nothing but false propaganda. What a shame it is, that, the people of Orissa are taken for granted by their Chief Minister! Read more →

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Legends are the most misguiding mischief aimed at superimposing lies on reality so that indigenous people of an occupied land are kept too dazzled to see the dark face of the rulers and the class of exploiters can keep its victims subjugated to its authority, while forcing them to forget the heroic history of evolution of their own philosophy of life, their own splendid spiritual realizations, their own socio-economic uniqueness, their own ancient culture, their own valorous past, their own way of social integration and their own civilization.

We see this mischief galore in the context of Navakalevara of SriJagannatha.

So, here, we are to rip apart the legends and bring the reality of the Navakalevara to light, as thereby alone we can reach the lost uniqueness of the people of Orissa.

We will use Puri Sankaracharya’s self-proclaimed authority over Navakalevara to proceed with our purpose.

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Oriya daily SAMAJA founded by late Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, to which, out of their love and reverence for the great humanitarian leader, the people of Orissa had and have been giving their financial and moral support, is in a menacing maze of forgery and loot.

Sadly, two of Gopabandhu’s trusted men – Lingaraj Mishra and Radhanath Rath – who, because of being known so, had the opportunity of becoming cabinet ministers in Orissa, were the masterminds and/or makers of the forgery from which the paper is yet to be salvaged.

Both of them – Lingaraj and Radhanath – had partnered with each other in forging the last WILL of Gopabandhu to grab the Samaja, which being Gopabandhu’s paper was of superb credibility and the greatest political instrument of the day. They had performed this crime behind the screen of and in nexus with Servants of the People Society (SoPS), of which, while breathing his last, Gopabandhu was the Vice-President. Read more →