The locals in Athagarh seem to be sick of promises by leaders who after being elected tend to forget their words and ditch the very electorates.
This is the reason why the Athagarh Assembly segment has not made much progress in terms of civic amenities, infrastructure and economic growth. The inhabitants have begun to feel that they have to find out a local leader who can be with the people all the time and will be suo moto interested for development of the area.
For in the past, the leaders who have been elected as MlAs like JB Patnaik and RP Swain have been outsiders. As a result, their heart hardly cried for the development of Athagarh. While Patnaik was a two-time MlA from Athagrah, Swain has been elected for five consecutive terms.
“The people of Athagarh, a Princely State earlier, are very innocent and are easily won over by promises. Outsiders, whether by use of force or sugar-coated talk, have grabbed power in the area only to remain heartless after being elected as representatives. These representatives have always given priority on personal aggrandizement over the growth of the constituency,” sad an intellectual here. He added, “For instance, in the last decade, Jagannath Spinning Mill, Maa Bauti Spinning Mill, Cooperative Cold Store and the Dyeing Factory at Dorada were closed leaving thousands of labourers and other workers jobless. Athagarh Stadium which was constructed during the representation of JB Patnaik was intentionally damaged during the representation of Swain.
This apart, now Athagarh has turned to a sanctuary of dacoits, high-way robbers and vagabonds as it is near Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Dhenkanal where the criminals after committing crimes come back to Athagarh to take refuge. These criminals stay here because of blessings of the leaders and bureaucrats.”
He lamented that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during an election rally not long ago had promised to make Athagarh a number one area in the State, but it proved hollow.