BJP on protest march to Naveen Niwas

PURI: Hundreds of BJP workers on Wednesday embarked on a padayatra from Simhadwar of the Sri Jagannath temple to Naveen Niwas protesting the sale of Bagala Dharmashala land.

The rally was led by Puri MLA Jayant  Kumar Sarangi, Brahmagiri legislator Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mahapata and senior BJP leader Krushna Chandra Jagdev. 

District BJP president Asrit Pattnaik said though the party workers staged dharna for 27 days, the administration did not pay any heed to their demand of cancelling the sale deeds of the land and immediate reconstruction of the Dharamshala. Finally, they launched the padayatra to draw the attention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, he said.

Local MLA Sarangi said in 1905, Kanheyalal Bagala had established the Dharamshala on 2.574 acre of land along the Badadanda to cater to the needs of economically-backward devotees.  

He entrusted the district Collector, who is the president of Puri Lodging House Fund Committee, with the management of the Dharamshala. 

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in Orissa High Court to prevent the sale of the Dharamshala land. Nine opposite parties including Puri Collector were served notice.

While the PIL is pending in HC, the Collector sold six plots of Dharamshala land to businessmen displaced during the demolition drive to create the 75-metre heritage and security corridor around Meghanad Prachir of Sri Jagannath Temple.

“The Collector has violated the trust reposed by Kanheiyalal in the administration. The sale of Dharamshala land is against the law. All the six sale deeds should be scrapped and land restored to Dharamshala,” Sarangi demanded. 

Apart from the Dharamshala issue, the BJP is demanding to expand the district headquarters hospital to the adjoining land vacated after demolition of the district jail.

The BJP would hand over the two-point charter of demand to the Chief Minister at his residence, Sarangi added. 

Meanwhile, petitioner Jagannath Bastia has filed another petition seeking amendment to his original one on the ground that six plots of the Dharamshala land has been sold during pendency of the PIL and some new documents and facts came up.

Earlier, the HC had issued notice to all opposite parties including the Puri Collector, and president of PKDA on the issue.

Though months have passed, none of the parties except Puri tehsildar and Sri Jagannath Temple Administration have filed their replies to the notice. The HC has asked the opposite parties and the petitioner to file their counters by November 2.