About 5,000 landless people under the banner of the Odisha Bhumihina Praja Samiti took out a huge rally from Mahulpal and gheraoed the Kamakhyanagar Sub Collector and the Tehsildar against the illegal encroachment of the 2.70 acre land of the Soil Conservation department near Rengali Sahi in Kamakhyanagar.
Notably, the land has been encroached allegedly by Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick and his close aide BJD District Youth president Jashobanta Parida.
The rally was led by Samiti’s State president Debashisha Hota.
At a meeting, the speakers narrated how the landless have defeated the BJD nominees in ZP zone 1 and 2 Dhenkanal district and instead have supported the winning BJP candidates. A discussion started for an hour between Hota and the Additional Tehsildar in presence of the DSP, the SDPO and the IICs of all police stations. After the administration accepted all the demands of the Samiti, the stir was called off.
The demands included pattas to be given to all the landless of Kamakhyanagar and Bhuban and the land to be identified; caste wrongly mentioned as saar to be changed to sabar in their pattas; 12 decimal land per family to be given to Alatuma villagers affected by flood by Ramial river and the land of the Soil Conservation department to be immediately made encroachment-free.