People’s anger against the ruling BJD was also reflected in Athagarh when almost all the villagers of Sasanka under Chhagaon panchayat opposed entry of local MlA Ranendra Pratap Swain to the village during a Jan Sampark Padayatra on Monday.
Villagers showed brooms and sticks and shouted slogans against Swain and other ruling party leaders blaming them for the Government’s apathetic attitude towards their village.
They demanded a four-point charter of demands like appointment of a regular PDS dealer, regular holding of Gram Sabha and Palli Sabha and development of the village at large. Ramesh Tarenia, a villager, said the MlA is giving priority to a particular vagabond group while leaving aside the genuine development of the village for which they have come out to protest by showing brooms and sticks.
Getting a tipoff from the intelligence department beforehand, three platoons of police force with Magistrate had been deployed to avert any untoward incident.
But when villagers were protesting on their own way, some goons and supporters of the MlA beat up some of them with sticks while. In their attack two women were injured.
The MlA passed the village road amid tight security.
Opining on the development, intellectuals said people have become unhappy as CM Naveen Patnaik has failed to bring development in Athagarh though he had assured to make Athagahr Assemly constituency number one during the bye-election held before 2014 general election.
They have termed the villagers’ protest like lightning striking the BJD. In his reaction MlA Swain said this is a normal trend in politics.
On Tuesday also, villagers of Padagaon under the same panchayat were ready to protest the MlA and his Jan Sampark rally with brooms, sticks, vegetable choppers and rotten eggs in their village. However, Swain could not join the rally today.