Freedom fighters skip Republic Day programme

Kendrapara (Odisha), Jan 27: Freedom fighters from across Odisha's Kendrapara district skipped the official republic day function on Thursday to protest non-allotment of a plot of government land for a Sangrami Bhawan complex.

Administrative officials, meanwhile, have begun steps to find a plot for the building. They have been demanding the land for the past 18 years.

"We stayed away from the R-day function in protest," Purusottam Nayak, president of district freedom fighters samiti, said.

"After waiting in vain to get a piece of government land to build Sangrami Bhawan, we had resolved not to take part in the official Republic Day function. They planned to felicitate the freedom fighters but none of them turned up," Nayak said.

Eighteen years back, the district administration had given consent to hand over the required land near Kendrapara College, he said.

When contacted Kendrapara Collector P K Pattnaik said, "The administration had offered a plot for the building on the outskirts of the town. But freedom fighters association insists on allotment of land in the heart of the town. The administration is trying to settle the issue at the earliest."

PTI