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Demand for inclusion of Cuttack in JNNURM

CUTTACK: In a unique protest meeting, citizens of the city under ‘Cuttack Bachao Committee’ held a day and night demonstration here highlighting the “negligence” meted out to the Millennium city by the present Naveen Patnaik government in the State. The 24-hour long demonstration which began on Wednesday afternoon concluded on Thursday.

Picketing for more than 24 hours in front of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose statue at College Square, senior and eminent citizens of the city expressed deep concern stating that Cuttack, which was once a vibrating city, is now slowly turning out to be dead city. “The present BJD-BJP dispension in State has grossly neglected the city over the past eight years”, the speakers alleged.

Presided by litterateur Annda Prasad Ray, the demonstration was attended among others by the Committee convener Subash Singh, former High Court judge Choudhury P. K. Mishra, Utkal Sammilani advisor Guru Prasad Mohanty, environmentalist Akshaya Das, city peace committee vice-president Bijay Chakraborty, former civic body chairman Trilochan Kanungo and others.

The speakers unanimously condemned the attitude of the present government and the local people’s representatives for hoodwinking the people. “While Cuttack and Bhubaneswar now being referred as Twin city having its civic bodies elevated to Corporation status and both coming under a unified police commissionerate system, the State capital is drawing all attention of the State government”, the speakers alleged. The speakers were also highly critical about non-inclusion of the thousand-year-old city in the ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) that was launched by the Union government four years ago. “We demand that the State government pass a Bill on this in the State Assembly and pressurise the Centre to include Cuttack in JNNURM”, said the Committee convener Singh.

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