THE PEOPLE of Orissa have faced a number of problems since and continue to do so. The problems include lack of quality education in primary stage, poverty, unemployment, the politicisation and criminalisation of society, corruption and law and order problems.
The present educational system is a failure in Orissa. The pressure of the educational system is taking a toll on students. The exam oriented system judges the student on the basis of his performance in the annual examination held at the end of every session. Getting the child admitted in a good school is a Herculean task for the parents.
As people are the citizens of the country, the government should shoulder the responsibility of providing an immaculate environment to the people.
Industrialisation in Orissa was carried out by the private sector. Hence the progress of industrialisation was very slow. The primary occupation of the masses was agriculture, which yielded low per capita income. The increasing population is a matter of grave concern. The rate of economic growth has been unable to keep pace with the increasing population. Increase in population has meant an increase in unemployment.
The masses are illiterate and hence they were unaware of their rights and privileges. Due to low standard of living, the population of the state suffers from malnutrition, high infant mortality.
Another problem is the acute shortage of housing facilities in every district. The people were forced to live in bellow poverty line. There are 5.5 million families in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list. The economic stagnation that has been witnessed in Orissa is because of the pluralistic pattern of society, unemployment and uneconomic outlook of the people.
Poverty in Orissa is on the decline but it is still a major issue. Rural Indians depend on unpredictable agriculture incomes, while urban Indians really on jobs that are at best scarce. Since 1990, the issue of poverty has remained a prevalent concern. Due to poverty, people of Malakangir, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, kandhamal, Bargard, Nayagadh, Gajpati, etc, are finding it difficult to meet the minimum requirement of acceptable living standards, many of them are unemployed and considered poor.
Millions of people in the state are unable to meet the basic standards of living. Nearly 70 per cent of the entire rural population and 40 per cent of the urban population of Orissa lives in this difficult physical and financial predicament. The state still has a long way to go in order to be called a developed state from all perspectives - social economical and political.
Since 2000, the Orissa government has implemented a number of programmes designed to eradicate poverty, and has had failure with these programmes. The government has sought to increase the GDP through different processes, including changes in industrial policies. The Training Rural Youth for Self Employment and other on-going programmes.
