BERHAMPUR: The Saharatali Milita Kriyanusthan Committee (SMKC) has reignited its long-standing demand for the merger of rural areas surrounding Berhampur with the city. Despite a decade of assurances, the committee asserted that no concrete steps have been taken in this regard.
A peaceful sit-in at Gandhinagar was followed by a protest meeting at the old bus stand on Sunday. The demands include the merger of identified rural areas into the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) and the grant of district status to Berhampur. Patnaik argued that the Brahmapur sub-division meets all the criteria for district status, citing factors such as five assembly seats, one Lok Sabha seat, six blocks, seven tehsils, three NACs, one corporation area, a port, an airstrip, a university, military base, and the RDC office under the subdivision.
President of SMKC, Sanjeev Kumar Patnaik, emphasising on the expansion of the city’s areas with the establishment of colonies, recalled the decision in 2008 to merge these areas when the municipality transitioned into a corporation. However, the government’s announcement on December 29, 2008, to form a comprehensive municipal corporation with 18 adjacent panchayats near Berhampur was not implemented. Expressing dissatisfaction with the underdeveloped status of these areas under panchayats, Patnaik stated that the committee had decided to revive its agitation.
The sub-division’s population exceeds 18 lakh, and its geographical boundary spans 20,000 square km. In response to the government’s inaction, SMKC plans to conduct weekly protest meetings in key locations within the city to raise public awareness.