Dumping Of Statues Of Jawaharlal Nehru, Biju Patnaik Sparks Public Anger In Odisha’s Paradip

Paradip: After a ‘distorted’ statue of former chief minister Nabakrushna Choudhury in Angul triggered a controversy in Odisha, another incident has sparked off public anger at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.

The statues of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and ex-chief minister Biju Patnaik were found dumped at Atharbanki in Paradip, triggering outrage among the people in the port town and adjoining areas.

Noting that both Nehru and Biju Patnaik were instrumental in setting up the Paradip Port, angry residents said the incident has come as an insult to the legendary leaders.

According to sources, the statues were installed atop a three-story building of the fishing business centre at Atharbanki.

After the building was allotted to Paradip Port Authority in 1997-98, the statues of the leaders, constructed on boats, were unveiled by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in January, 2003.

However, the statues were allegedly desecreted on Thursday night and dumped in an area nearby before being spotted by locals.

Secretary of a fishermen cooperative society, Aleka Tarai said the statues were in a dilapidated condition and were taken down for renovation of the fishing business centre building. The concrete boat structure installed on the roof posed a risk to the building and hence the statues were removed.

After the building is renovated, new statues will be installed on it, he was quoted by TNIE as saying.

However, president of Paradip Youth Voice Satya Mohanty said the statues should have been removed properly and immersed. It is an insult to the founders of Paradip Port and stern action should be taken against those responsible for the act, he said.

Meanwhile, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) mounted an attack on opposition BJP accusing its leaders of being responsible for dismantling and dumping the statues of the legendary leaders.

Senior BJD leader and party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty took to Twitter to allege that saffron party leaders were behind the act. He went on to allege that senior BJP leader Bibhu Tarai was instrumental in removing the statues of Nehru and Biju Patnaik in gross disrespect to the legendary leaders.