With a bunch of demands, members of the Minorities’ Association of Gajapati (MAG) staged a demonstration when district Collector Manasi Nimbihl was attending grievance day in R Udayagiri on Monday.
The Gajapati district comes under 90 high minority concentration districts in India. But it is backward and falls behind the national average in terms of socio-economic and basic amenities indicators.
More than Rs10 crore as grants is given to Gumma, Mohana and Nuagada blocks per year for multi-sectoral development but the money is either not spent properly or the needy fail to get any benefit. The fruits of development do not reach the real beneficiaries.
MAG president Thomas Michael said the Collector should convene a meeting, at least thrice a year, to hear the grievances of minorities so as to understand their difficulties. He informed that 70 per cent of the minorities depend on sifting cultivation whereas 60 per cent are landless.