A Kosal Mahapnchayat meeting organised by the Kosal State Coordination Committee was held here on Sunday being attended by Kosal supporters of Balangir, Subarnapur, Bargarh, Jharsuguda and Boudh districts. The meeting demanded formation of a separate State of Kosal.
Among others, Rajiv Khosla of Jammu Andolan and Professor K Venkataswamy and Professor C Bhaskhar Rao from Telangana addressed the meeting and supported the demand for a Kosal State.
Gopalji Panigrahi of the Balangir Action Committee, Padmshri Haldhar Nag and many other speakers of Odisha’s western region stressed the need for formation of a Kosal State in view of the “persistent neglect of this region by costal area people”.
For the first time in the Kosal agitation, a Kosal Mahapnchayat was held with a view to taking the movement to the grassroots level. People and Panchyati Raj Institution members from 11 districts attended the meeting, said the organisers.
Kosal State Coordination Committee leader Pramod Mishra said, “We will support the political parties and candidates in the elections if they include the demand for a Kosal State in their agenda or otherwise support our Kosal State cause.”