BARGARH/KANTABANJI/ BHAWANIPATNA/BALASORE: Odisha government’s latest decision notifying 16 new notified area councils (NACs) and seven municipalities has invited a mix of joy and resentment.
Declaration of Sohela as an NAC by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi sparked celebrations across the town and its adjoining villages. People hope the recognition would pave way for infrastructure development and civic amenities.
Residents felicitated local MLA Irasis Acharya for pushing the demand. Acharya assured that Sohela would not only grow into a clean and beautiful town but also into one that is corruption-free, addiction-free, and crime-free.
For decades, residents of Sohela had been pressing for NAC recognition, arguing the town located on the busy Sambalpur-Bargarh road served as a commercial hub and grew well beyond a gram panchayat.
The demand gained momentum ahead of the 2024 elections when the previous BJD government declared 34 new NACs across Odisha, including Paikmal and Bheden in Bargarh district. Sohela was added later through a gazette notification but the decision could not be implemented before the polls.
Former minister Prakash Debata welcomed the government’s decision. “It has been a long aspiration of the people, and I sincerely wish for rapid progress of Sohela and its adjoining areas,” he said.
While Sohela rejoiced, discontent brewed in Paikmal and Bheden which were part of the 2024 list but have been excluded from the present one.
In Balangir, the decision brought anything but cheer as hopes of Kantabanji getting upgraded to a municipality has crashed. It was in the earlier list brought out by the previous BJD government but did not materialise this time.
To express its disappointment, the BJD on Thursday observed Kantabanji bandh demanding municipality status to the NAC. All educational institutions, banks, offices and business establishments remained closed as BJD workers staged protest at important junctions of the town.
Sources said previously, the plan was to expand the boundaries of Kantabanji town by including villages like Dhamandanga, Chutuanka, and Kukudahad under Kantabanji NAC and upgrade it into a municipality but in vain.
Interestingly, Kantabanji had produced the biggest surprise in 2024 elections when BJP’s Laxman Bag handed former chief minister Naveen Patnaik his first electoral defeat and by a handsome margin. Bag said what was proposed to the government was not considered. “However, we will request the government again,” he added. The announcement also crashed the hope for upgradation of Bangomunda and Sindhekela as NACs.
Similarly, people observed a bandh in M Rampur of Kalahandi district demanding NAC status to the town on Thursday. The agitators said the genuine demand of the residents of M Rampur was unjustly ignored by the state government. Due to the bandh, shops and business establishments, educational institutions and offices remained closed while vehicular traffic was paralysed.
On Wednesday, residents of Khaira in Balasore had observed a 7-hour bandh as a mark of protest against government ignoring their demand for NAC status to the town.