Public Hearing Program Organized by Women’s Commission

Bhubaneswar, March 2026 : With the aim of providing a free platform for women to present and hear grievances related to domestic violence, harassment, dowry, property disputes, harassment at the workplace, cybercrime, desertion, matrimonial disputes, violation of women’s rights, and other issues related to women’s welfare, a Jan Sunani (Public Hearing) program was held today at 10:00 AM. The event took place at the conference hall of the State Institute for Women and Children in Laxmi Sagar, Bhubaneswar, organized through the joint collaboration of the National Commission for Women and the Odisha State Commission for Women.

In this public hearing program, notices were issued to parties in a total of 86 cases from various areas of Khordha district. Out of these, parties involved in 45 cases were present at the hearing, where their grievances were heard and measures were taken for the immediate resolution of the complaints. Previously, in 150 cases, the Commission had recommended that the Khordha District Police authorities, District Protection Officers, and the District Legal Services Authority investigate and submit reports while providing legal aid. Consequently, district-level officers remained present at today’s public hearing and submitted Action Taken Reports for all those cases. Similarly, a total of 6 new cases were registered during this public hearing program.

The program was held under the chairpersonship of the Chairperson of the Women’s Commission, Smt. Shobhan Mohanty. All members of the Commission, namely Smt. Urmila Mohapatra, Smt. Pratibha Satpathy, Smt. Mukta Sahu, and Dr. Kalpana Malik, were present to conduct the hearings and manage the proceedings. Similarly, the Convener Secretary of the Women’s Commission, Shri Vivekananda Sahu, supervised and managed the smooth execution of the public hearing. Senior Field Officer of the Women’s Commission Smt. Vijayini Singh, Junior Field Officer Smt. Sanjit Dash, two counselors Smt. Bandana Mohanty and Smt. Priyadarshini Acharya, along with Shri Arabinda Patnaik, Shri Trilochan Nayak, Shri Chittaranjan Sahu, and Shri Biswanath Biswal, were present to assist in the program.

Among others, representing the Khordha District Administration, District Social Welfare Officer Smt. Kusum Kumari Praharaj, District Protection Officer Smt. Debaki Sahu, Smt. Diptimayee Panda and Shri Naveen Mohapatra from the District Legal Services Authority, Smt. Sasmita Rana from the Khordha District Police Human Rights Protection Cell, and Srimanti Mohapatra and Lijarani Das Mohapatra from the Sakhi, One Stop Centre were present and provided cooperation for the program.

Aliva Avilipsa