Bhubaneswar: Administrative services across Odisha remained severely disrupted on Thursday as around 1,500 officers from the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) reportedly continued their mass leave in protest against the assault on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo.
The ongoing protest, which began on July 1, has impacted key government functions in over twenty districts. Citizens have been left struggling with delays in essential administrative services including land record management, public grievance redressal, among others, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Sahoo, a senior OAS officer, was dragged out of his office and assaulted by a group of miscreants on Monday, who reportedly demanded that he apologise to BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan. Police have arrested five people so far, including BMC corporator Jeevan Rout. The Odisha unit of the BJP has also suspended five of its members, including Rout, in connection with the incident.
A video of the assault has gone viral on social media, fuelling public outrage and triggering widespread solidarity among the state’s bureaucrats.
“Considering the widespread discontentment of all the members of the Association working across the state, it has been decided that all OAS officers will continue to be on leave until the demands are met,” read a memorandum of the OAS association submitted to the chief secretary. The association further mentioned that the incident has severely damaged the morale of officers working in the field.
Meanwhile, Odisha revenue minister Suresh Pujari urged officers to resume duty, stating that the timing of the protest was inappropriate given the ongoing Puri Ratha Yatra and flood-like conditions in parts of the state. He further reiterated the state government is open to discussions.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
