Odisha Govt Under Attack Over Hoarding At Manoj Das Memorial Site Sans Photos

Bhubaneswar: Internationally acclaimed author and thinker Manoj Das is well known across the world for his extraordinary writing style and creativity. The legendary award-winning author, who wrote both in Odia and English, contributed immensely to the fields of literature and education. Equally renowned was his elder brother Manmath Nath Das, who was an eminent historian.

As a tribute to both the brothers, the Odisha government is setting up a memorial at their paternal house at Sankhari village under Bhograi block of Balasore district at a cost of Rs 6.90 crore. Work for the memorial at their birth place commenced in March.

5T Secretary VK Pandian visited the site on June 23 and reviewed the progress of the memorial monument work. He directed to expedite the work for its early completion.

Sources said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is slated to visit Bhograi next month and steps are being taken to complete the work before that. The administration is now extra effort to complete the project as only 50 per cent of the work was stated to have been completed so far.

However, a controversy has been triggered by a hoarding put up at the site recently which has a large picture of the Chief Minister. It describes Manoj Das only as a poet.

The hoarding has evoked sharp criticism from intellectuals, writers, poets, litterateurs and thinkers from across the state. They have lashed out at the state government accusing it of being careless towards the project because of its ignorance.

Taking a dig at the state government, noted litterateur and columnist  Asit Mohanty said the hoarding does not have pictures of the two legendary brothers in whose memory the monument is being established. Ironically, a large photo of the Chief Minister has found place in it. The memorial is being set up as a mark of tribute to both Manoj Das and M N Das, he said.

Describing Manoj Das as a multi-faceted and versatile author, he said the legendary litterateur has been described only as a poet. It shows the government’s ignorance and lack of knowledge, he said.

Several others also hit out at the government for handling the memorial project in a casual manner. They alleged that the state government’s aim is to bolster its vote bank by misleading people. Therefore, little care was taken to put photos of Manoj Das and his elder brother M N Das, they claimed, adding that instead of having their pictures the hoarding displays a large photo of the Chief Minister.