Bhubaneswar: With official work across Odisha paralysed for two days because of a ‘cease work’ by Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officers, the state government Wednesday appealed to the agitating officers to resume duty.
State government officials launched the protest Tuesday, a day after Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo was allegedly dragged out of his office and assaulted by a group of miscreants.
According to police, five people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident.
To resolve the ongoing deadlock, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi convened a high-level meeting with senior officials.
After the meeting, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari urged the officers to end their agitation and assured that such an incident would not happen again.
“The incident has shocked everyone…no one is supporting it, and it is highly condemnable. So far, five people have been arrested while other accused will be arrested and forwarded to court,” Pujari told reporters.
The minister said the OAS Association has already held meetings with the chief minister and the chief secretary.
“If they (officers) want, we are ready for further discussions. This is not the proper time to go on ‘cease work’. I appeal to them to resume their duties. We can hold discussions on their demands,” he said.
Pujari also pointed to the ongoing flood situation in parts of northern Odisha and the Rath Yatra festival as reasons why the agitation is untimely.
On OAS Association’s demand for arrest of BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan for his alleged involvement in the attack, Pujari said, “Police are investigating the incident from all angles. Once they complete the investigation, it can be ascertained who was behind the assault. It will not be right to arrest someone without an investigation. So, let’s allow the law to take its course.”
The OAS Association had given a call for a ‘mass leave’ from Tuesday over the incident.
They later postponed it after getting an assurance from Majhi.
However, despite the association’s decision to defer the agitation, OAS and ORS officers in a majority of the districts, including Cuttack, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Sonepur, Rayagada, Dhenkanal, and Mayurbhanj, went ahead with the agitation.
Due to the absence of sufficient field-level and district officers, government and public service works have almost come to a standstill, an officer said.
The officers also demanded adequate security for all field-level executive officers to discharge their duties, and public condemnation of the incident by the government.
Meanwhile, a meeting was held at the BMC office to review the security arrangements so that such an incident does not recur in future.
“The security agency engaged by the BMC has been asked to depose before the authority. If needed, we will deploy armed security personnel to guard the office,” BMC Mayor Sulochana Das said.
CCTV cameras in the BMC office, which were dysfunctional, will be made operational soon, she said.
Police have so far arrested five people, including BJP corporator Jeevan Rout, in connection with the assault, a police officer said.
Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said, “Soon after the incident, we took action and arrested five people. Strong action would be taken against all involved in the incident.”
PTI
