At grievance cell, people pour their hearts out to new CM

Bhubaneswar: Long before registration started at 9 am on Monday, people made a beeline for the chief minister’s grievance cell early in the morning. Anxious and tired individuals waited for hours with their bundles of documents to meet chief minister Mohan Majhi and apprise him of their plight.
The waiting area was filled with hundreds of people, each with their own stories to tell the CM.Later, they were given a serial number for entry into the grievance cell.
Kastahari Jena, 55, a native of Kathapala village under Ghasipura block in Keonjhar district, who cannot walk, took the help of a village youth to reach the nearby railway station in a vehicle on Friday and came to Bhubaneswar on a train. He stayed at Bhubaneswar railway station for four days and came to the CM grievance cell on Monday to lodge his complaint.
“I do not have a pucca house. My parents are no more. My tricycle is lying defunct at home. I need a tricycle and a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme,” said the physically challenged person, waiting outside the grievance cell in a wheelchair.
After returning from the grievance cell, Jena said the CM promised him help. “The chief minister belongs to my district. After meeting him, I felt like he is there to help me. Now, I am relieved,” said Jena with tears in his eyes.
Jayaram Melaka, 28, travelled around 430km from Dimbaguda village under Bandhugaon block in Koraput district to meet the CM. He came to Phulkona Chak by motorcycle and boarded a bus to Rayagada before traveling by train from Rayagada to Bhubaneswar.
“We do not have clean drinking water in our village. Though we get water from a tubewell and a stream nearby, the water is not potable. Recently, our kids got diphtheria. We suffer from diarrhoea and other diseases due to contaminated water. The previous govt did not pay heed to our request. Now we hope the new CM will solve our problem,” he added.