The Odisha Basti Sangharsh Samiti has threatened that it would ghearo the Naveen Niwas again if its various demands are not fulfilled within seven days. Samiti president Pratap Sahoo informed that an inter-Ministerial committee headed by the Finance Minister Shashi Bhushan Behera held discussions with a 12-member delegation of the Samiti regarding the the latter’s five demands, which include constitution of a Slum Welfare Board, inclusion of slum dwellers of all five municipal corporations in the land scheme, amendment of the Odisha Land Rights Slum Dwellers’ Act 2017, provision of lands to slum dwellers at their workplaces and handover of land to leprosy, kinnars and the homeless in all vie municipal corporations. The committee assured to fulfill these demands within seven days, Sahoo said.
“If the demands are not met in seven days, the Mahasangha will be forced to gherao the Naveen Niwas again,” said Sahoo. The slum dwellers’ delegation comprised Pratap Sahoo, advisor Pradeep Pradhan, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Bastibasinda Ekata Manch president Sk Abdulla, Brahmapur’s Bijaylaxmi Behera, Rourkela’s Ranadheer Lenka, Sambalpur’s Anil Mohanty, Madhusmita Behera, lawyer Hemant Samal, Banita Nayak, Jayant Tarai, Sukant Mohanty and Bimal Prasad Mohanty participated in the discussion.