Bhubaneswar: In the wake of the death actor Pintu Nanda at a young age, secretary of Odisha Cine Artistes’ Association Sritam Das has drawn the attention of chief minister Naveen Patnaik to the demand of Ollywood artistes for a setting up a welfare fund with government support.
“Though the Association has raised the demand before the state government to create a welfare fund for the artistes several times, no step is forthcoming. Had such a fund been formed, Pintu could have been saved with treatment expenses from it,” said Sritam while speaking to a local TV channel.
Expressing his bitterness over the treatment meted out to the Odia actors, he said while the chief minister can meet the film stars and sportspersons from outside, he has no time to meet the actor from the state who continue to struggle to arrange money for their treatment.
He further said the government’s indifference towards Ollywood can be known from the fact that there is no allocation or mention of the Odia film industry in the Budget.
On being asked whether the Association had approached the government for help for treatment of Pintu, Sritam said no artistes are not beggars. Moreover, was the government unaware of the fact that he (Pintu) was undergoing treatment for a serious disease like cirrhosis of liver for over a month, he asked.
“Whenever the government needs us, it approaches us. But it forgets all about us afterwards. Though there is a culture department and Odisha Film Development Corporation, Ollywood continues to suffer for lack of patronage,” said the actor-turned-politician.
It may be noted that Pintu Nanda breathed his last while undergoing treatment for liver cirrhosis at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Wednesday night.
