Bhubaneswar: Puri lawyers submitted a memorandum to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday, seeking his intervention against the planned shifting of the district court to Talabania near the Industrial Training Institute (ITI). Puri Bar Association president Premananda Mohanty said, “The construction of the new building in the proposed area is completely illegal as it comes under the sweet water zone. The existing court building is 160 years old, and it should operate from this place.”
Bar association secretary Sarat Kumar Rayguru expressed, “It is a conspiracy against intellectual strength to shift the court from the heart of Puri to another place.” Senior advocate and Puri Yuva Chetana secretary Debasis Das said, “Emotions of lawyers and Puri locals are attached to the 160-year-old heritage court building. Not just lawyers, the proposed relocation is being opposed by the entire Puri community.” Puri MP Sambit Patra and MLA Sunil Mohanty endorsed the demand of lawyers and accompanied the lawyers when they presented the memorandum to Majhi during his visit to Puri.
A district official explained, “The Orissa High Court previously took a decision to build a spacious judicial complex at another place in Puri to accommodate more courts and visitors. A five-acre land near Talabania ITI has been finalised for the new court building.”