OdishaPlus Bureau
In a bid to rehabilitate party leaders who were either denied tickets in the recently concluded elections to Lok Sabha and State Assembly or have unsuccessfully contested, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today appointed as many as 35 of such political personalities in various PSUs and Boards controlled by the Government of Odisha. This is the biggest exercise after he came to power in May.
Patnaik appointed Susmita Bagchi, wife of Odisha Skill Development Authority chairman Subroto Bagchi, as the chairperson of “Mo School (My School)” program. The scheme is an initiative that aims to create a platform for people to connect, collaborate and contribute to revamping the government and government-aided schools in Odisha.
Minati Behera has been appointed as chairperson of the State Commission for Women while Kasturi Mohapatra will be the new chief of Social Welfare Board.
BJD spokesperson Sulochana Das has been named as chairperson of the State Commission for Persons with Disabilities and Lopamudra Buxipatra as advisor of the Mission Shakti.
Srimayee Mishra of Bolangir will be the chief of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation while Sulata Deo has been appointed as the advisor of the Women and Child Development Department. Senior BJD leader Pushpendra Singh Deo, who lost the elections in the Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat, has been nominated as a member of the Western Odisha Development Council while former Rajya Sabha MP Dilip Tirkey will be the new head of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council.
Other leaders, who have been appointed, are Utkal Prasanga and Odisha Review Editor Lenin Mohanty, Special Development Council’s Advisor Sujeet Kumar, ET, and IT Department Advisor Anubhav Patnaik and Agriculture Department Advisor Krutibas Patra. Bijay Nayak, the BJD general secretary will head the Odisha State Youth Welfare Board while former MLA Priyadarshi Mishra will be the chairperson of Odisha State Housing Board.
Prominent trade union leader Subash Singh will be chief of Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers’ Board. Utkal Keshari Parida will also be an advisor, Chilika Development Authority while Debasis Ghosh has been appointed as an advisor, Odisha Forest Development Corporation. Janamejaya Lenka will be the advisor of Odia Language Literature and Culture Department while Ramachandra Panda to be the new advisor of Odisha State Agriculture Marketing Board.
Debasis Mohanty will be the chairperson of the Odisha Agro Industries Corporation while Iswar Panigrahi has been named as Odisha Seeds Corporation’s chief. Pravat Aditya Mishra will head APICOL and former MLA Anup Sai will be the chairperson of Odisha Warehousing Corporation.
Former MLA and actor Akash Dasnayak will be the new head of the “Mo College (My College)” initiative, a scheme to promote and facilitate volunteers to give back to alma maters.