Bhubaneswar, December 28: Odisha unit BJP president Manmohan Samal on Thursday minced no words to condemn the ruling Biju Janata Dal’s “incompetence” in handling the solid waste management issue in State capital Bhubaneswar and said his party would address the problem in just 72 hours if voted to power in the State in 2024.
Speaking to reporters here, Samal said inefficiency of the state government had resulted in the state capital city Bhubaneswar emerging as a stinking garbage dumpyard and people were literally battling to breathe fresh air.
“Almost half of the city is now stinking as the state government has utterly failed in solid waste management. Temporary dumping yard at Gadakan is emanating unbearable stinks, making life hell for lakhs of people. If the BJP comes to power in 2024, it will address this in just 72 hours,” said Samal.
For over 31 days, the BJP Bhubaneswar unit has been staging a Satyagrah protest against the local municipal corporation’s failure to lift the garbage from Gadakan dumping yard, besides keeping other parts of the state lean.
The protest was withdrawn on Thursday evening as the saffron party decided to undertake a door-to-door campaign from Friday to highlight Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation’s failure on solid waste management.
To a query, the BJP president said the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had become “autocratic” and it would be thrown out of power by the people of Odisha in the forthcoming Assembly elections.
Odisha will go to assembly polls along with Lok Sabha elections.
“It’s quite shameful that Odisha is now being ruled by an inefficient and non-performing government led by Naveen Patnaik. Here, the ministers are spineless. They cannot meet the CM nor can exercise their power freely. There is no rule of law here. The ruling BJD leaders are siphoning Central funds,” alleged Samal.
There was, however, no reaction from the ruling BJD side.
