RAJESH MOHANTY, OP
Rourkela: A little over a month after the ST & SC Development, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare department issued a letter to Sundargarh Collector to identify a land parcel for construction of a grand memorial in honour of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, commemorating the legendary freedom fighter’s 150th birth anniversary November 15, reports have suggested that the plan has been stalled, triggering kneejerk reactions from the citizens, with some saying it was a gimmick before Jharkhand Assembly elections. A report appeared in this newspaper October 16 said the ST & SC department principal secretary Bishnupada Sethi had written a letter (No 21293/SSD, Bhubaneswar, STSCD-BLDPlan2-0016-2023) dated October 9 to Sundargarh Collector Manoj Satyaban Mahajan to identify a land parcel for the grand memorial.
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The letter said, “The memorial shall include a statue of Bhagawan Birsa Munda (150 ft), an interpretation centre, a convention centre, souvenir shop, cafeteria, green lawns and other facilities. The foundation stone for the above shall be laid at a state-level function on 15th of November, 2024 at Rourkela. Therefore, you are required to identify a suitable land for all the above preferably in a scenic backdrop to make it a state of the art monument.” Former engineer in-chief Jagannath Patel was appointed the technical consultant who would have visited the district for discussion and preparation of a preliminary report. After several reconnaissance, the district administration had finally zeroed in on the land belonging to the government owned 200 acres Kuanrmunda Dairy Farm, which is closed now. However, the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda was observed but the plan has allegedly been swept under the carpet. “This is an insult to the great freedom fighter of this region. Since the 1st phase of Jharkhand election is over, they have dropped the idea,” said Biren Senapati of BJD. He further said, “The entire announcement was nothing but a trick and they successfully deceived the people of this region. But in the name of politics, this was a very nasty plot.” Former District Congress Committee president Rashmi Padhi said, “Have they ever garlanded the statue of Birsa Mundaji ever before. Now, the manner in which the great freedom fighter has been insulted is shameful.”
During UPA regime, he said, there was a plan to set up a tribal university here. “Why has it been shelved?” he asked. A resident of Birsa Munda’s village Ulihatu near Ranchi said, “We were initially very elated when we heard about construction of a memorial in the name of Bhagwan Birsa Munda but now all of us are really unhappy and upset. The government of the day has no rights to insult Bhagwan Birsa Munda.”