JK Paper Mills flouts several norms with safety gaps in Dussehera celebration, conducts lottery in the plea of donation
Dr.Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, October 27: Though a week long Dussehera celebration mentored by JK Paper Mills(JKPM) Ltd. at JayKay Pur, Rayagada culminated last Friday, it seriously flouted several laws of the land. A huge congregation of more than fifty thousand visitors per day assemble to witness Durga puja, Ravan podi, cultural programmes, do shopping from several hundreds stalls, enjoy joy rides in Ferris or giant wheel, etc.
To cite violation of norm & legal clearance, joy rides in the Ferris wheel can be taken as an example. To install this giant electro-mechanical structure of more than 40 ft height with heavy iron fittings, many permissions and no objection certificates(NOCs) are needed. NOC from Chandili Panchayat, Inspection report from Executive Engineer, Deptt of Roads & Buildings regarding extent of strength of rotatory & oscillatory motion around the fixed axis, strength of passenger cabins/chairs, gravitational potential energy, arm drops, vertical orientation, electric connection by TPSODL authorities with NOC from Executive Engineer about proximity of high tension cable, condition of electric motors & generators, Fire Safety Certificate, Police permission, NOC from an auto engineer for joyrides, etc were not at all taken. The safety of the local employees staying in staff quarters, which were hardly 50 meters away, was hardly taken into account. The owner also did not have any technical person to operate the Ferris wheel. The parts of many of these makeshift ride structures had rusted and did not meet required safety standards.
The land, where it was installed, belongs to Govt of Odisha leased out to JKPM. “The owner installer needs a premise license under Regulations for Licensing & Controlling Places of Public Amusement, 1980. This was never obtained. No plan by a qualified engineer regarding structural dimensions was submitted to the sanctioning authority. Whether JKPM can sub-lease the land to the owner of the Ferris wheel with rent and other fees is questionable. This is really unfortunate”, lamented Rasmi Ranjan Dora, a local resident under Chandili/JK Pur police station. No pollution measures were taken like establishment of temporary toilets leading to open urination and defecation. As a traffic measure, without a joint verification with R&B authorities, the commuters were allowed to pass through ESI hospital gate, which was long shut since Covid days. The extremely narrow road was heavily dusty with no provision of water sprinkling.
Rabindra Patakhandal is anguished over the whole episode of donation collection by Durga Puja Committee-2023. “Is the Committee legally registered ? Can it collect donation ? Can it run a lottery by announcing prizes through lucky draws in the name of donation collection ? Is it authorized to collect lakhs of rent towards sub-leasing the land and poor construction of tent rooms ? Is the Incom-Expenditure statement bearing crores of rupees sent to Income Tax deptt ? As in Odisha Govt lottery is banned in The Odisha Prevention of Gambling Act-1955 & Odisha Lottery Rules-1983, the Committee has twisted the nomenclature to Donation or Chanda. Nevertheless, donation does not seem to be legal for an unregistered outfit like Sri Durga Puja Committee-2023. Giving a false religious fervor in the name of religion has become an office of profit and merry making for the Committee aka Company. This is really a sorry state of affairs. The hegemony of a corporate like JKPM twisting the laws of the land reflects the nexus with Govt monitoring authorities, who are supposed to take the violators to task”, said Patakhandal.
