The lawyers of undivided Koraput district convened a meeting here on Sunday demanding a permanent Bench of the Orissa High Court.
The executive members of all Bar Associations of undivided Koraput district participating in the meeting expressed their desire to intensify
their strike to build a pressure on the Central as well as the State Government to achieve their goal.
Justifying the demand for the HC bench in undivided Koraput district, Jeypore Bar Association president and steering committee president Biresh Patnaik said: “Koraput district fulfils all the criteria laid by the Jaswant Singh Commission for establishment of a permanent Bench of the Orissa High Court.”
The district is located more than 550km away from the High Court in Cuttack, besides being a tribal-dominated district. We have been demanding for the HC bench for long. But, both the Central and the State Governments have been deliberately ignoring our demand, he added.
Umarkote Bar Association president Prasant Kumar Sahu said that majority of people in undivided Koraput district live below the poverty line, and are unable to bear the cost to go far way Cuttack to pursue legal matters.
Senior lawyer of Umarkote Bar Jaydeb Parida exhorted to invite all associations of the undivided Koraput district and general public to extend their support.
“We will resort to economic blockade if our demand is not fulfilled,” said Prasant Tripathy of the Jeypore Bar.