Bhubaneswar: Even as the state government has decided to set up a university to promote Odia language, many posts at some of the crucial organisations under the Odia Language, Literature and Culture department have been lying vacant.
Many wings under the department have been functioning without fulltime presidents and secretaries for the last couple of years.
The president and vice-president posts at Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi have been lying vacant for the last five months. The state government is yet to fill these two posts after the tenure of Trupti Das as president and Ramahari Das as vice-president expired in January this year.
“The Sangeet Natak Akademi is now functioning under the guidance of secretary Bijay Kumar Jena. The akademi is facing a policy paralysis in the absence of president and vice-president. Staff crunch may delay the distribution of Sangeet Natak Akademi awards,” said a source familiar with the issue.
- The president and vice-president posts at Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi have been lying vacant for the last five months
- Odisha Sahitya Akademi has been functioning without a fulltime secretary for the last six months
- Lalit Kala Akademi has been functioning with a caretaker secretary since sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra’s nomination to Rajya Sabha
Odisha Sahitya Akademi has also been functioning without a fulltime secretary for the last six months. The state government has asked Odisha State Museum superintendent Jayanti Rath to act as the Sahitya Akademi secretary temporarily. It is now tough for Rath to handle the twin responsibilities, sources said.
Apart from Rath, state museum curator Suchismita Mantry has been given the additional charge of Odisha State Archives superintendent. “The temporary arrangements have been affecting the smooth functioning of both Odisha State Museum and Odisha State Archives,” said an observer.
Noted sculptor and architect Raghunath Mohapatra has recently resigned from the post of Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi president after his nomination to Rajya Sabha. Moreover, the Lalit Kala Akademi has been functioning with a caretaker secretary for last several months. Manas Jena, a lecturer at BK Art College, has been given the additional charge of Lalit Kala Akademi secretary. Jena’s deputation has affected study at the art college, sources said.
When contacted, Odia Language, Literature and Culture secretary Manoranjan Panigrahy said the state government is taking steps to fill the above said vacancies. “We have finalised names for secretary and vice-president of Odisha Sahitya Akademi and sent the file for approval. Suitable candidates have been selected for the posts of Sangeet Natak president and vice-president. We are awaiting final approval in this regard,” Panigrahy added.
According to him, the department has initiated the process to fill vacancies at Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi.
PNN