Puri land impasse;BSSP to prevent Naveen's entry

Puri,Jun 23(UNI)The activists of the Bhu Sampati Surakshya Parishad (BSSP)will stage a rasta roko agitation to prevent the entry of Chief Minister Naveen Pattnaik demanding implementation of his direction to end the impasse over the Puri land controversy.

BSSP Convener Surendranath Das today said if the decision of the Chief Minister was not implemented in leter and spirit by July 3 next,the Parishad would intensify the stir and oppose the visit of Mr.Patnaik to attend the final rath yatra co ordination meeting here on July 4 next.

Mr.Dash, a ruling BJD leader and former chairman of the Puri municipality has been spearheading the movement of the residents of this pilgrim city whose land and property rights were arbitrarily supplanted with the name of the Sri Jagannath temple managing body in the official land register allegedly on frivolous grounds.

The residents who even bought the property from mutts five decades ago and fulfilled all the required legal paraphernalia to become the rightful owners were in a fix as they lost title over the property overnight.

Over 80 per cent residents of this city and a large number of others living across the state became victims of two revenue department circulars.

Their problem further got compounded as the temple administration has directed the planning authority not to approve building plans and the bankers not to advance loans in any form to the residents. It has also asked the registrar of land and property not to entertain sale and transfer of the property.

This had triggered a wide spread discontentment among the residents who have been opposing the action of the government through demonstrations during the past three years.

Finally Chief Minister Naveen Pattnaik had intervened and after discussion with the parishad leaders assured that the interest of the residents of the taken into account and two controversial revenue department circulars responsible for the impasse would be withdrawn.

As nothing visible happened till date the Parishad activists resolved to gear up a fresh stir to press the officials to carry out the chief minister's directive.

UNI