Deceased Odisha officer gets crowd control duty for Modi's event
In a significant oversight, the Odisha government assigned a deceased officer, Prabodha Kumar Rout, to manage crowd control during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bhubaneswar. The error was made in an office order issued by the general administration and public grievance department on Friday. This mistake quickly drew criticism on social media platforms, prompting the government to issue a correction on Saturday.
Deceased officer's assignment details and subsequent correction
According to TOI, the order originally listed 50 senior Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officers, including Rout, for crowd management duties during PM Modi's visit. Rout was erroneously mentioned as the administrative officer at the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC). However, he had passed away in July last year. Following social media backlash, the government issued a corrigendum replacing Rout's name with Subrat Kumar Jena, a land officer at Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO).
Government's response to social media criticism
In response to the social media criticism, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja confirmed that the error had been rectified. "It has been changed," he said. However, this did not prevent further backlash from political figures such as Swayam Prakash Mohapatra, head of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) social media cell. Mohapatra criticized the government for its oversight on X, stating, "A very strange situation under a strange regime."
Odisha government declares holiday in view of Modi's visit
The Odisha government has declared a holiday for all schools and colleges in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area on September 17, in view of PM Modi's visit. He will launch the Subhadra Yojana on that day. "In view of this, the state government has decided that all the schools and colleges of Bhubaneswar will be completely closed," the CMO said. Under the women-centric scheme, all eligible beneficiaries between 21 and 60 years would receive ₹50,000 between 2024-25 and 2028-29.
