BJP, Slum Dwellers Gherao BMC Office In Odisha Capital Alleging Irregularities In Jaga Mission

Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wokers along with of slum dwellers staged a demonstration outside the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office in Odisha capital on Friday alleging irregularities in selection of beneficiaries of Jaga Mission.

Raising slogans against the state government and BMC, the protesters alleged that pattas (RoR) are being handed over to ineligible people in slum areas under Jaga Mission.

Agitating saffron party workers tried to storm into the BMC office, but they were stopped by police deployed at the site. The demonstrators entered into a scuffle with police and some of them were detained as a preventive measure, sources said.

Notably, the BMC had earlier conducted a drone survey to map the slum areas and assess the number of the genuine beneficiaries.

The BJP workers alleged that a list of beneficiaries had been prepared, but after the final list appeared it was found that names of many genuine beneficiaries have been deleted and names of people owning buildings were included instead.

BJP leader Babu Singh also alleged that the BJD workers are influencing the drone survey and striking off names of genuine slum dwellers who are not supporting their party. “The list is being prepared in a partisan manner while BJD workers are chosen to get land pattas,” he claimed.

He warned that the agitation will be intensified if genuine people are not included in the list.