BERHAMPUR: Berhampur MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy has submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, seeking time-bound action on Paralakhemundi’s stalled infrastructure and long-pending development demands.
At the centre of the memorandum is the Paralakhemundi ring road and bypass project, sanctioned in 2017-18. A stretch of around five kilometres was proposed to ease congestion in the town, but the project remains stalled despite the tender reportedly continuing to be valid and some affected landowners having received compensation.
The MP has pointed to coordination problem between government departments. While the ring road and bypass fall under the Works department, land involving 111 municipal shops comes under the Housing and Urban Development department. The result, he said, has been a deadlock over a project intended to address one of Paralakhemundi’s most persistent problems: traffic congestion.
The 111 roadside traders are themselves at the centre of the town’s infrastructure dilemma. Their shops occupy space but also represent livelihoods that cannot simply be removed in the name of road expansion. The MP has demanded construction of a 200-shop modern market complex, with the 111 existing traders to be given priority for rehabilitation.
The memorandum also turns the spotlight on Paralakhemundi’s fading heritage. The town, whose municipal institution dates back to 1885, has a deep association with the Gajapati royal family and the political movement that culminated in the creation of Odisha as a separate province.
The larger question raised by the memorandum is whether Paralakhemundi’s development can continue to be approached through isolated projects when its traffic, land, livelihood, water bodies and heritage are closely interconnected.