Sambalpur: Fear of eviction from the land owned by Jhaduapada-based Jagnyabaraha temple at Sakshipada here, slum-dwellers took out a rally to the collectorate demanding cancellation of the land’s auction Tuesday.
Staging a demonstration at the collectorate, the slum-dwellers called for immediate cancellation of the bidding process initiated by the endowment department. They discussed the matter with district land acquisition officer Sitanshu Tripathy before submitting a memorandum to him in this regard. They warned of intensifying their agitation if their demand was not met.
Expressing solidarity with the agitators, advisor of Sambalpur Vichar Manch, Jayabrata Dey, and its convenor, Debasis Purohit, also sought cancelation of the auction process.
Tripathy assured the agitators of taking up the matter with the collector.
According to reports, over 800 poor families encroached upon 26 acre of the temple land in Sakhipada and have been residing there for 100 years. About 80 per cent of the residents belong to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe categories.
In 2006, the state government had directed the endowment department to sell the land at the rate of Rs 40,000 per decimal. The slum-dwellers welcomed the move and agreed to make payment for the land in installments.
However, owing to internal disputes in the endowment department, it failed to make any progress on the state government’s directive.
The slum-dwellers were perturbed after the department issued a notice last week to auction the land March 4. The move triggered sharp reactions from residents with fear of getting evicted gripping them.
Residents have termed the department’s fresh efforts to sell the land at Rs 3 lakh per decimal as unfortunate. PNN
