All Government offices, banks and educational institutions in Khariar town of Nuapada district remained closed on Monday due to a bandh called by the Bar Association of Khariar. All the shops downed their shutters and buses and other vehicles were off the roads. All the political party members of the town also supported the bandh call.
The demands voiced by the bar association were many relating to development of Khariar, but the main focus was on the Forest Department. “The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Khariar has become the main obstacle to development of Khariar because he’s not giving any land for establishing offices and institutions of public interest in the town,” said the agitators.
Khariar is a small town with a geographical area of six square km. The town is rapidly growing, but development of public infrastructures is not keeping equal pace. There is no permanent bus-stand, no place for vegetable market, which is creating a lot of problems for the people. The Revenue Department has no land in the town area to provide space for embellishment of a bus-stand, a market, Kendriya Vidyalaya and a hospital. “But on the other hand, the Forest Department is having more than 100 acres in the heart of the town and it is not ready to cede an inch from its purview,” the agitators complained.
The people have demanded land for establishing a KV. They have also demanded immediate transfer of the DFO. The agitators held a rally and submitted a memorandum the BDO of Khariar addressed to the Chief Minister. The DFO, on the other hand, said he is not obstructing development. “There is no problem in giving land if a proposal is submitted in due process. let the executing agencies submit De-reserve Proposal (DRP), I will forward that to the Government,” the DFO had stated at a Press meet on Sunday.
A meeting was held after the bandh rally on Monday where leaders of different political parties spoke about the problems of Khariar. Bar Association president Aprameya Panda and secretary Chittaranjan Singh Deo and senior advocates Baisampayan Meher and Santosh Mishra also spoke.