A large number of sports lovers and youth leaders are on hunger strike before the RDC (Southern) Office here since Thursday protesting against the arbitrary shifting of the Women Weightlifting Sports Training Centre along with the training equipments and hostel to Bhubaneswar by the State Government on the night of March 30.
Mention may be made that in the field of weightlifting, the district of Ganjam, more particularly Brahmapur city, has occupied a special space in the sports map of the world as several sportsmen and women of this region have earned recognition by exhibiting their talents in different games and sports at the State, national and international levels and won a good number medals and honours including two prestigious Arjun Awards.
On April 4, a large number of sports lovers and representatives of different clubs and political outfits had staged a dharna in front of the Brahmapur Stadium protesting against the clandestine shifting of the weightlifting training centre as well as the women’s hostel from Brahmapur. But the Government is yet to heed the public sentiments.
The agitators described Brahmapur as the nerve centre of weightlifting; hence, such conspiracy of the Government and people of vested interests involved in the shifting the centre would not succeed, they said.
Among others on the hunger strike are members of the lanjipalli Yuvak Sangh, leaders of the Janahitakara Party, BJP youth leader Rama Kumar Patra, P Jagannath Giri and Ashoak Nimai. If their demand to bring back the training centre and the women’s hostel to Brahmapur is not met, they would give a call for a Brahmapur Bandh on May 9, they warned.