Affected Families Demand Adequate Compensation For New Road In Odisha’s Puri

Puri: With Odisha government proposing to construct a 800-metre road under heritage corridor plan for convenience of the devotees in Puri, the people to be displaced by the project have demanded adequate compensation at a public hearing held on Wednesday.

As per the plan, the road of 80-ft wide will be laid from Shree Jagannath Ballav parking lot to Dolabedi of Jagannath temple in the Pilgrim Town. Around 1.14 acre of land will be acquired and total 84 families displaced by the road.

While 68% of the land either belongs to Lord Jagannath or the state government and 32% private individuals. Of the private land, 0.87 acre belongs to 66 families in Chudanga Sahi and 0.26 acre to 18 families in Dandimala Sahi.

The affected families said they were willing to give up their ancestral properties for a noble cause. But they need to be adequately compensated under the government’s rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy. They demanded Rs 50 lakh as compensation, cost of the building at market price and Rs 1 crore per decimal of the land.

“We have been living on this land for generations. We have emotional and traditional bondage with our ancestral house. I have a three-storey building where 24 families are living on rent. This is my family’s main source of income. How can my family sustain if we are not adequately compensated after being displaces?” said Mrutyunjay Patnaik while speaking to media.

Echoing same views, another person to be displaced, Sangita Jajwal said her entire family was in stress. “My husband is the only child of his parents. He is also a blood pressure patient. We have to again rebuild our house and start a new life. We need adequate compensation for the purpose,” she said.

Stating that they had all support for the government for the project, the displaced families said their interest should also be looked into. If their demand for compensation is not fulfilled, they would be forced to get down to the streets to start an agitation, they added.