To raise voice against the increasing unemployment problem, some youths of Ganjam district have formed a common platform, “Bekari Manch” with its office at the Gandhinagar Main Road here.
The Manch is collectively headed by a band of five youth leaders, former Ganjam block Chairman Surath Pahan as founding president, Rupesh Mahapatro and Sisir Kumar Das as vice-presidents, Samir Panda as secretary and Durga Madhab Panigrahi as joint secretary.
BJP leader Rama Chandra Panda attended as a guest in the inaugural meeting of the Manch.
The Manch demanded for immediate functioning of the Tata Plant Project, Titanium Project and completion of all-weather Gopalpur Port, informed Pahan.
Pradhan said the Manch wants immediate operation of these industries as they have acquired valuable lands and promised to give jobs to local youths. ‘It is disappointing that the proposed plants have only constructed boundary walls and land loser families and local youths are waiting to get jobs for long,” he lamented.
Similarly, the Gopalpur Port yet to run full-fledged, he said. The further alleged that though the industries are functioning at the cost of the local public, people from other States and outsiders are being appointed even in lower posts like mechanics, security guards, masons, technicians in clear negligence to local unemployed youths and the land-losers, he said.
The demands of the Manch include jobs for youths in local industries, skill development training for them, re-functioning of all shutdown industries at Ganjam, Chhatrapur and Gopalpur and re-instating of all retrenched workers.