The Senior Citizen Forum of Baleswar on Tuesday demanded establishment of a Railway Division in the district.
At a meeting of the forum, its members expressed concern over the apathetic attitude of the Union Government on their longstanding demand.
They maintained that in view of the numbers of passengers and the volume of revenue generated through commercial activities, there is an urgent need of formation of a separate Railway Division in Baleswar for smooth and effective management of the railway services.
They further demanded that the shortcomings found in the model Baleswar railway station have to be met without further delay.
The forum also demanded that the pension for the senior citizens be enhanced from Rs 300 per month to Rs 1,000. It further stressed on strict enforcement of the laws relating to use of Odia language in all official works and writing of all signboards and other displays in Odia only.
The forum members also stressed on plantation in and around Baleswar town for protection of environment besides undertaking adequate sanitation and cleanliness measures.
It also pointed out the need of construction of a building for an old age home in the district at the earliest.
The meeting, held under the chairmanship of president of the forum Baidyanath Sarangi, was attended by secretary laxmidhar Behera and members Dhirendranarayan Das, Girish Dash, Sarat Chandra Dash, Prahallad Charan Mohanty, Harish Chandra Behera, Bimal Jena and Anasuya Nayak, among others.