Athagarh: The state government’s notification regarding the merger of 57 villages under this block in Cuttack district with Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) has heated up politics in the area, a report said. The matter came to the fore after public representatives, political party leaders, lawyers and members of voluntary outfits opposed the notification and demanded its withdrawal, Saturday.
Sarpanchs of various panchayats under zone no-3 of Athagarh block led by Zilla Parishad member Balabhadra Bagh and Subhash Mallick submitted a memorandum to the Athagarh Sub-Collector Hemant Kumar Swain and demanded scrapping of the notification. The members of a voluntary outfit Athagarh Surakshya Manch also submitted a memorandum demanding to conduct a fresh public hearing in the concerned villages identified for merger with the CDA.
Similarly, lawyers Shankarshan Mohanty, Prakash Kumar Sethi, Srinivas Das, Pradip Kumar Mohapatra, Debaraj Swain and Gulu Sahu led by their bar president Jagadananda Tripathy also submitted a memorandum to the Sub-Collector in this regard. Athagarh BJP unit termed the decision as against public interest and drew the attention of the Chief Minister. The party leaders also demanded the local MLA and state Agriculture minister Ranendra Pratap Swain to issue a clarification in this regard. The party leaders warned of an agitation if the notification is not immediately withdrawn, said a press release.
BJP’s MLA candidate Brajendra Ray, district vice-president Bichitrananda Jena, district general secretaries Ramnarayan Mohanty and Hema Manjari Bhanja, Athagarh town zonal president Hemant Kumar Mohanty Tapan Lenka and Umesh Samal, presidents of various zones under Athagarh block attended the presser
