Kamal Purty, a labourer, who has got a plot of land at Pandakudia near the SUM Hospital, is a happy man now. He is among the 300 odd families, who have been relocated from Jagannath Basti near Jayadev Vihar Square to the new locality after vacating the slum.
The eviction drive was carried out to beautify the space near the wall of the Kalinga Stadium and entry from Gate No 9 for the coming Hockey Men’s World Cup.
Rabindranath Kisku, originally from Kusumasol in Mayurbhanj district is also a beneficiary who is equally happy as he has got a plot at Pandakudia after relocating from Jagannath Basti. “I was staying in Jagannath Basti for nearly 25 years. Now the plots for the families have given us a better option and we are happy for the change”, he said while preparing for the transfer.
Rajesh Kanhar, a student of Rajdhani College, however has to come a long way from the new place to his college. “Every change is for betterment. I may face some challenge, but happy that my family would get a plot of land,” he said.
Notably, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC)-Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) joint eviction squad started the eviction process from near Gate No 1 of the stadium on September 27. On first day the squad removed 31 structures from the Behera Sahi area.
While on Friday, the eviction drive faced some resistance and hence the process was stopped midway. Later with persuasion from BMC-BDA team, the households agreed to go to Pandakudia with a payment of Rs 35,000 and a plot size of 20X12 square feet area.
On Saturday afternoon, while the demarcation work was done for more than 100 plots at Pandakudia, the eviction work from Jagannath Basti continued simultaneously.
The BMC-BDA team persuaded people to move and carry their belongings through vehicles deployed by the BMC, the civic body also organised their breakfast and later lunch at Pandakudia site.
