Dais collapses, Congress leaders escape unhurt

KENDRAPARA: Senior Congress leaders, including Union Minister Srikant Jena and Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik, had a close shave when the dais collapsed at an election meeting here on Saturday. Nobody was injured in the incident which occurred when the leaders were addressing a meeting for the November 15 urban body elections, police said.While some leaders came out of the broken structure on their own, others were assisted by party workers, volunteers and police personnel. Addressing the gathering, Patnaik criticised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his failure to do any developmental works in Kendrapara.