1 week Ago By Express News Service
BARIPADA: Members of various tribal communities on Thursday took out a rally in Baripada town demanding declaration of the Mayurbhanj district as a separate state to facilitate its all-round development. The protesters, under the aegis of the District PESA Gram Sabha Coordination Committee, went across the town wearing tribal attires and holding bows and arrows and later staged a dharna in front of the Collectorate. They alleged the district has been neglected in all aspects both by the Centre and the state government.
President of the committee Bhanjkul Panduram Hembram alleged the district continues to lack road communication, irrigation, tourism, healthcare, employment opportunities, electric supply, drinking water besides the non-implementation of PESA Act. “Many villages are still non-reachable due to absence of roads for which patients are being taken to hospitals in cots. There are villages which do not have drinking water facility or irrigation despite crores of rupees allotted for the same.
Despite presence of PHCs and CHCs, sub-divisional hospitals and medical colleges, lack of proper healthcare and shortage of doctors force people to depend on SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack for treatment,” the protesters rued. They further complained local youth do not get employment opportunities as no industries have been set up in the district. “This apart, though Similipal is thronged by hundreds of visitors on a daily basis, no provision is made for its development even after the double-engine government came to power in the state,” they pointed out.
The tribal protesters called for a separate state status for Mayurbhanj district claiming it would lead to all-round development of the region. They also submitted a memorandum addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi and CM Mohan Charan Majhi in this connection..
