As 2019 enters the threshold bringing ‘promises’ in an election year, genuine farmers in Odisha and elsewhere will certainly look forward to avenues to sell their grains. Not certainly loan waiver promises from political parties. The farmers know, the mandis are open for mill owners and government officers who are supposed to implement welfare schemes or dream projects of the government. Officers down from the District Collectors have reported that LAMPS and other grain collection centres have been opened all over, but the ground realities are different from official projections. Schemes like KALIA and drought relief measures or insurance schemes for crops devastated by cyclones Titli and Phethai have not enriched the sharecroppers so far. Ujjwala schemes too have not brightened the homes of the poor who look forward to some real light from 2019. Like political promises or manifestos they too have eluded Indian farmers. Let there be true light in the lives of agrarian sector in 2019!
| Ramesh Patnaik
Bad augury
Much against as we would wish, Indian economy is likely to see a rollercoaster ride in 2019. Less than a quarter to sign off the current financial year, the Centre’s fiscal deficit has already overshot the full year’s budget estimate. The slippage has been as much as Rs 92,349 crore. What is more worrisome is that the spike in the outgo has not been due to growth inducing capital spending. With the general elections only a few months away, the government needs to avoid the temptation to open the spigot for electoral benefits. But that seems very unlikely now. The nasty drubbing that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received last month in three State Assembly polls will force it to announce big-ticket sops for farmers, the largest block in the country’s electorate no matter what the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, may be preaching to opposition parties. The Biju Janata Dal has stopped short of announcing a blanket farm loan waiver. The KALIA scheme for farmers will entail a spend of over Rs 10,000 crore which is on top of an assortment of populist measures that the government had already announced. Money is flowing from the coffers like never before. All these projects were not built into the current budget. Nobody seems to bother where it will come from. The challenge for the government in 2019 remains in finding ways to rustle up revenue to keep the deficit from slipping for a second year running. But will anybody listen? the augury is not at all positive.
| Sisir Mishra
Good neighbourly ties
The bygone year witnessed Odisha entangled in riparian and border disputes with its neighbours. While the dispute over Mahanadi water sharing with Chhattisgarh hit the state worst for farmers were left without irrigation facilities, the state also got into an ugly controversy over GI tag for rasagolla with West Bengal which gleefully stopped the supply of potatoes to Odisha. This aside, The state is enmeshed in border disputes with Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. While there are reports of Andhra officials infringing Kotia village in Rayagada district from time to time, West Bengal too seems to be keen on having a slice of Odisha in Tukapalaisa in Mayurbhanj district and Udaypur beach in Balasore. Ties with Jharkhand too are not at its best – thanks to the row over water sharing of Subarnarekha. Lack of good neighbourly relations will not only hamper the state’s development, but also affect the residents of bordering areas. Hopefully, 2019 will usher in peace among the neighbours strengthening the federal structure of the nation.
| Chandan Das
Course to correct
One of the biggest challenges facing the world today is climate change. While leaders who matter in getting human-induced global warming down to controllable levels — chiefly US President Donald Trump — are feigning ignorance about the human connection to climate change, the effects are there for all to see. Against this backdrop, the effort of the Odisha government to ban the use of plastics in five cities came as a breath of fresh air. The state, which is even today blessed with a bounty of natural resources and pristine forests, still has a chance to mitigate the effects of climate change if it knuckles down to tackle pollution, even plastic menace, in pragmatic ways. A yearend report published by the magazine ‘Down to Earth’ had the stark statistics such as East Delhi’s Ghazipur garbage dump standing at 65 metres tall, which is about the height of Qutub Minar (73 metres). The state has a huge green business opportunity to pursue if it invests in both alternative sources of energy and in recycling of wastes. There is huge potential to convert waste into reusable items such as paver blocks which could also provide employment opportunities. The coming year would be a good time to embark on the road to sustainable development.
| Ajith Kumar S
A different year
Unlike every other year, this occasion shouldn’t be trivialised by taking stereotypic decisions. Personal and public life needs to be more disciplined. Intolerance is sky high. One should look inward and have some space for others. Compassion and generousity are on the wane. Individual freedom has shrunk to a dismal minimum and at the same time no one is ready to do some sacrifice for others. Hope this attitude will change. May this New Year witness a significant reduction in crimes, especially against women and minors. Traffic violations continue to worry us and this needs to be changed with able traffic administration, which of course is a tall order. People are in dire need of good political leadership. Who should be the role model of our kids, the future citizens of our country, is a million dollar question.
| Ratan Pradhan
Action speaks louder
After a pause and all-round cynicism of the year that was, hope for the New Year is things will turn out better for India in the months ahead. Possibilities of political uncertainty are there as neither the BJP nor the Congress will have a cakewalk at the next parliament hustings. This much is certain. The best opportunity provided by the electorate to BJP and Narendra Modi in 2014 was obviously squandered. Why so is a big question that the PM and his team would face through the first half of this year. The days of big talk are over. Action today speaks louder than words — more so in public life.
| Prem Chandran
Tall Tail Piece
We all wish the best for ourselves. The desire to have more, succeed more and to be more is unending. Greed overpowers mankind today. What we, in India, lack most is social leadership. We are a people with a well entrenched feudal mind set. Thus we are always searching for that particularly charismatic leader who shall lead us far away from our personal miseries. The desire is also deep that this could be achieved by least efforts on our part. The mantle falls on politicians who, like all of us, are looking for that same kind of quick relief. There is no fast acting political drug to get rid of our headaches. Social well being can only be achieved by public participation. Culture has been limited to songs and dances. The culture of consideration for fellow beings lies neglected and untended. Not political only but cultural and social revolution alone may change our level of awareness. An awakened citizen, especially the farmer alone can change our political character of opportunism and convenience. This could sound like a very tall order at this juncture.
| Tathagata Satpathy