Civil body members and activists of the city on Friday demanded inclusion of Brahmapur under the Smart City scheme of the Centre on the ground that it fulfils most of the eligibility criteria to get the status.Congress leader Tumbanath Panda said the State Government should propose Brahmapur for the scheme as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has betrayed his home district Ganjam in setting up of the IIM in the State. “If there is any deficiency in reaching the prescribed eligibility, the Government should direct the Brahmapur Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Urban Development Department to fulfill the same at the earliest to achieve the goal,” Panda said.
Besides Ganjam district, Panda said, seven south Odisha districts, Gajapati, Boudh, Kandhamal, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur and Malakanagiri, depend upon Brahmapur for business, education and health facilities purposes. The city, which has ancient Buddhist monuments and Gopalpur sea beach along with port nearby, has the tourism potentiality like Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark golden triangle, he added. Since the State Government has failed to provide the basic infrastructure like sanitation, round the clock energy, good roads, sewerage system, bridges, ring roads, clean drinking water, software parks, CCTV surveillance in the city, solar-powered lED-based street lights, high speed internet service with WiFi zone and modernised health care services to its denizens, these requirements can be well addressed only if the city is included under the Smart City scheme, he lamented.
The activists and intellectuals had convened a meeting under the banner of ‘Forum for Ganjam’ to discuss about the issue. Forum convener Sudhir Rout said the city fulfills most of the eligibility criterions to become a Smart City. “It is the political will alone which will make such dream of the public into a reality,” said forum president PK Sahu.Sahu said the forum would bring out a ‘Sachetan Rath’ soon to sensitise the public on the issue. later a delegation of the forum would meet the Chief Minister soon in this regard, he added.A forum member Jamula Suresh said, “If the Government recommends Sambalpur for IIM without having any infrastructure, why not Brahmapur to be recommended for smart city.”Meanwhile, forum members have submitted a memorandum to local MP Siddhant Mohapatra in this regard.