TNI Bureau: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the state government over the deaths of 14 minor girls and women from Keonjhar district in a toxic gas leak at the Saint Paul food processing factory in Tiruvallur, demanding stronger support for the bereaved families and long-term measures for tribal welfare.
Addressing a press conference after a fact-finding visit to the affected villages, Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das said Keonjhar has now become the “new place of hunger,” replacing the image once associated with Kalahandi.
Das said the Congress delegation witnessed heartbreaking living conditions in the tribal villages despite Keonjhar’s immense mineral wealth. He alleged that basic infrastructure, drinking water, employment opportunities and healthcare remain inadequate in large parts of the district, forcing thousands of tribal youths to migrate to other states as labourers.
The Congress demanded that the Odisha government create a fixed deposit of ₹25 lakh in the name of each victim’s family so that the interest earned could provide them with a sustainable source of income. The party also urged the government to utilise the district’s mineral fund for the development of tribal communities and formulate a special welfare package for them.
Das further alleged that migrant workers from the district lack proper registration, insurance and social security. He called for greater local employment in mining areas, claiming that even a small increase in manual jobs could significantly reduce distress migration.
Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Rama Chandra Kadam accused the state government of neglecting tribal communities and questioned why Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had not personally met the bereaved families despite the tragedy occurring in his home district.
Former OPCC presidents Niranjan Patnaik and Jayadev Jena also criticised the government, alleging that the benefits of Keonjhar’s vast mineral resources had not reached its tribal population.
They demanded registration, insurance and protection for migrant workers, action against labour contractors involved in exploitation, and immediate utilisation of district mineral funds for tribal development.
The Congress also sought the arrest of the alleged labour agent accused of sending workers from Keonjhar to the factory in Tamil Nadu and warned of protests, including a gherao of the District Collector’s office, if its demands are not met.
