Argus News - Champua MLA Sanatan Mahakud Blasts BJD

Keonjhar, Dec 7: Following a disappointing performance in the 2024 Assembly and General elections, and a particularly poor showing in the Nuapada bypoll, the Biju Janata Dal has been facing increasingly vocal dissent from within. After leaders such as Bhupinder Singh, Debashish Samantaray, Shreemayee Mishra and Elina Dash publicly questioned the party’s functioning, this time senior BJD leader and Champua MLA Sanatan Mahakud has joined the chorus.

Champua MLA and senior BJD leader Sanatan Mahakud launched a sharp attack on his own party’s former government on Sunday, alleging that despite taking “hundreds of crores” from the region, the previous regime allotted only Rs 50 crore for the development of Maa Tarini’s shrine, Ghatagaon.

“The BJD had taken massive revenue from this land, but for our revered goddess, Maa Tarini, they gave just Rs 50 crore. But Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has now given a truly massive gift — he has sanctioned abundant funding for the transformation of the shrine,” Mahakud said.

Mahakud’s remarks are being viewed as a serious indicator of the party’s internal mood. His statement has added significant weight to the simmering internal unrest in the party’s ranks. Known for his influence in the mineral belt and his strong organisational grip in Champua, Mahakud’s criticism signals that dissatisfaction is no longer restricted to a few disgruntled leaders but is spreading across multiple layers of the party.

Mahakud's remarks came during Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi's public meeting at the Ghatagaon Mini Stadium, where the latter formally laid the foundation stone for the Maa Tarini Temple Corridor Project. The redevelopment — spread across nearly 60 acres — is scheduled to be completed within a year.

Majhi announced that additional provisions would be added to the project, including residential facilities for temple servitors. The Works Department has been instructed to begin preparations, while the district administration will ready the DPR.

The project will include a 216-bed yatri nivas, a pilgrim centre, a lecture hall, a food plaza, a watchtower, a market complex, storage spaces, a 500-capacity prasad hall, toilets, changing rooms, shoe stands, ticket counters, wash areas and a drivers’ rest area. Road improvement, parking expansion and beautification of four ponds are also part of the plan.

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The ambitious project, with an estimated expenditure of over Rs 300 crore, is expected to transform the temple surroundings, improve facilities for devotees, and boost tourism in the region.