Fifteen years ago it was a dream for a common man to get a passport on time. As per the necessity of people, the Central Government has opened a Passport Seva Kendra at Sambalpur, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik a couple of months ago.
People felt happy after opening of the Passport Kendra at Sambalpur as they would not have to travel to Bhubaneswar for their passport. People of Bargarh and Balangir districts are being provided service by the Sambalpur office.
But unfortunately people of Subarnapur district have been excluded from the services of Sambalpur office, although it is only 80 km away from the Subarnapur district headquarters. This has triggered resentment among the people in the district, who have demanded the district to be included under the jurisdiction of the Passport Kendra.
“local leaders are not capable to convince the Union Government. We demand immediate inclusion of Subarnapur district under the Sambalpur Passport Kendra, otherwise a massive agitation will be held, said BJP leader Baldev Bedbak and former MlA Binod Patra.
The Government has less knowledge about the geographical location of western Odisha.
People of Subarnapur would suffer a lot to travel to Bhubaneswar, which is 320 km away. The local leaders are selfish. They are only working for their own interest, said senior journalist Gorekhnath Sahu.
“I am shocked by the decision of the Government and demand to immediately include Subarnapur district under the jurisdication of Sambalpur Passport Kendra,” said BJD leader Abhimanyu Kushal.