Padmapur’s Residents protest over district recognition
Irate residents of Padampur in Bargarh district, under the aegis of Jay Kishan Andolan, modified the signboard outside the sub-collector’s office on Monday, by removing the ‘sub’ to press for their demand for separate district status to Padampur.
Convener of the outfit Ashok Sahu said the people have been demanding district status for Padampur since long.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik also announced plans to upgrade Padampur sub-division into a separate district by December 2023. But no progress has been made in this regard, he said. The chief minister had announced to upgrade the Padampur sub-division into a separate district ahead of Padampur byelection in December 2022.
Sahu said Bargarh district was created by including Padampur sub-division when the number of districts was increased to 30 from 13. But the problems of Bargarh and Padampur are different. While Bargarh is an irrigated belt, Padampur is drought-prone area and there is huge difference between the two sub-divisions of Bargarh district in terms of economic status of people. “The Padampur area has remained underdeveloped. This apart, the distance between the Padampur sub-divisional headquarter town and Bargarh district headquarter town is 80 km, while the distance between Bargarh town and the interior pocket of the Padampur sub-division is more than 150 km. The distance is also an obstruction for the development of the area,” he said.
IIM Sambalpur
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