Cuttack
A major controversy has erupted in Odisha over a video showing a social worker making tribal activist and Padma Shri awardee dance with her in a hospital.
In the viral video, the septuagenarian Padma Shri Kamala Pujari was seen dancing in the ICU of the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The social worker named Mamata Behera was also seen dancing with her. The incident occurred prior to her discharge from the hospital on Monday.
“I never wanted to dance but was forced to do it. I repeatedly denied, but she (Behera) did not listen and recorded the video. I was sick and got tired. This has further deteriorated my health,” Pujari told television channels in Koraput district from where she hails.
Pujari belongs to the Paraja community, a major Scheduled Tribe of Odisha, which comprise around 4 per cent of the state’s tribal population.
Harish Muduli, president of the tribal community’s association ‘Paraja Samaja’, said its members will hit the streets if the state government fails to take action against the social worker.
However, the hospital authorities said Pujari was admitted to a special cabin and not in the ICU. “The woman who allegedly made Pujari dance used to visit her at the special cabin,” said Dr Abinash Rout, the registrar (administration) of the hospital.
Pujari’s attendant Rajeeb Hial said she does not know Behera, who had also clicked several selfies with the Padma Shri awardee.
Pujari was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019 for promoting organic farming and preserving over 100 varieties of indigenous seeds of different crops including paddy
On her part, Behera claimed she had no bad intention behind the act, and just wanted to “shun Pujari’s laziness”. She even claimed Pujari performed Dhemsa, a traditional folk dance in Koraput district, on her own.
Chairperson of Maa Ghara, Nabarangpur, Kadambini Tripathy, wondered how in a place like ICU, camera and shooting were allowed.
