Jena urges PM to visit Kandhamal village

Bhubaneswar : Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Srikant Jena urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Mandipanka village in Kandhamal district where three tribal women died after consuming mango kernel gruel allegedly due to scarcity of food grain. The Prime Minister is on a three-day visit of Odisha from Friday, during which he is attending All India DGP/IGP Conference.

Jena had earlier led a Congress fact-finding team to Mandipanka village in Kandhamal district where the three tribal women died. He alleged that the people consumed mango kernel gruel due to lack of food grains.

“I humbly request you to dedicate one day to visiting Mandipanka village to witness first hand the harsh realities of how tribal people are living in complete neglect.

This visit would highlight their struggles and underscore the urgent need for immediate action to address these issues,” Jena said in a letter to the Prime Minister on Friday.

The Congress leader said after visiting the affected village, a delegation of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee met the Governor and explained the ground situation. The party has requested the Governor to visit Kandhamal. The Governor is yet to visit the affected area, Jena said in the letter.

He alleged that the people consumed mango kernel gruel due to acute food scarcity in the region, a direct result of complete collapse of the food grain distribution under the Public Distribution System (PDS). “Had the food supplies been released on time, this tragic loss of life could have been saved,” he said in the letter.

The Congress leader alleged the administration has not implemented MGNREGA in the region for which the youths migrate to other places. He said the Kandhamal District Collector visited the affected village one week after the incident but the Odisha Food Supplies Minister or the Chief Minister have not yet visited the affected tribal village.