Stir over MKCG move to close gate to curb entry of ‘outsiders’ | Bhubaneswar News
Berhampur: Several people, including many women, on Monday protested near the revenue divisional commissioner (south) office here against the decision of MKCG Medical College authorities to close the road connecting to the institute’s playground.
They also submitted a memorandum to urban development minister Krushna Chandra Mohapatra and commerce and transport minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena requesting them to direct the medical college authorities to withdraw their decision.
“The road connects to several areas on the outskirts of silk city, including Bhabinipur to Goilundi, and around 50,000 people depend on it for communication. If the road is closed, these people will have to travel around 5 km to reach Goilundi,” said Ranjit Sahu, sarpanch of Bhabinipur panchayat.
He alleged the MKCG authorities started to close the gate on Dec 26 night by deploying security. “However, the work was stalled after our protest. They also made similar attempts in 2016. After the interference of then MLAs of Gopalpur, Berhampur and the district administration, the work stopped,” he said.
Residents of Sidharath Nagar and Jyoti Nagar, which are near MKCG, threatened to continue their agitation if the authorities did not withdraw their decision.
Mohapatra, who was here to attend the general body meeting of Berhampur Development Authority (BeDA), said local MLAs and the MP would visit the spot to find an alternative way.
MKCG principal was not available to comment on the development.
Sources said the authorities want to close the road to prevent the entry of outsiders on the campus. Earlier, the junior doctors’ association (JDA) of MKCG demanded the authorities close all the subways for entry into the college for the safety of doctors.
They also submitted a memorandum to urban development minister Krushna Chandra Mohapatra and commerce and transport minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena requesting them to direct the medical college authorities to withdraw their decision.
“The road connects to several areas on the outskirts of silk city, including Bhabinipur to Goilundi, and around 50,000 people depend on it for communication. If the road is closed, these people will have to travel around 5 km to reach Goilundi,” said Ranjit Sahu, sarpanch of Bhabinipur panchayat.
He alleged the MKCG authorities started to close the gate on Dec 26 night by deploying security. “However, the work was stalled after our protest. They also made similar attempts in 2016. After the interference of then MLAs of Gopalpur, Berhampur and the district administration, the work stopped,” he said.
Residents of Sidharath Nagar and Jyoti Nagar, which are near MKCG, threatened to continue their agitation if the authorities did not withdraw their decision.
Mohapatra, who was here to attend the general body meeting of Berhampur Development Authority (BeDA), said local MLAs and the MP would visit the spot to find an alternative way.
MKCG principal was not available to comment on the development.
Sources said the authorities want to close the road to prevent the entry of outsiders on the campus. Earlier, the junior doctors’ association (JDA) of MKCG demanded the authorities close all the subways for entry into the college for the safety of doctors.
