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Dried mango kernels were hurled at the motorcade of Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during his visit to Kashipur village in Rayagada district to assess the situation following the starvation deaths of 19 tribals recently.
Tension mounted at Tikiri, a panchayat headquarter, as the chief minister's motorcade, which was on its way to Bilamala village, arrived. The villagers demonstrated against the administration's "failure" to provide Below Poverty Level cards to the villagers.
Though the police escorted Patnaik to Bilamala, about five km from Tikiri, the crowd obstructed the car of Biju Janata Dal MLA Bibhisan Majhi and heckled him, accusing him of neglecting the constituency.
Majhi managed to reach Bilamala with police escort.
As tension rose with inhabitants of the nearby Jhadiasahi village bent upon making their point before the chief minister, the latter was detained at Bilamala village for nearly an hour.
Two tribal women, Bitai Jhadiani and Kandai Jhadiani, told reporters that the authorities had not issued BPL cards since 1992. They demanded that fresh identification of BPL families should be made, as well-to-do people had also been listed as poor.
The chief minister, who earlier visited Panasaguda village near Kashipur, where seven persons had died after consuming mango kernel gruel, assured the people that the food for work programme would continue in the area for a long time.
Patnaik also announced that the Antyodaynder scheme, under which a beneficiary would get 25 kg of rice per month at the rate of Rs three per kg, would be implemented in the block from September 1 next.
Besides, 5,000 gratuitous relief cards would be issued to the people facing distress conditions, he said.
Patnaik visited the house of Biswanath Majhi, whose mother, wife and son were among the dead, and spent some time speaking to the villagers.
Baikuntha Nayak, one of the residents, demanded that the industries, particularly the proposed alumina plant near Tikiri, should be established for the development of the area.
Patnaik was accompanied by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister of State for Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Rabi Narayan Nanda, Chief Secretary D P Bagchi and several other secretaries of different departments.
PTI
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