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Friday, May 23, 2008
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Natives up in arms against Bengalis

Kendrapara: Native settlers in a far-flung coastal gram panchayat of Orissa’s Kendrapara district are up in arms against Bengali-speaking settlers.

“We are losing our own identity in our birth place as Bengali speaking people have outnumbered us in villages like Hetamundia, Saralikuda, Jogidhanakuda, Kansaradiha, Sanatubi, Badatubi, Sananipania and Badanipania,” Ramachandi Patnaik secretary of Ramachandi Krushak Mahasabha told reporters today.

The native Oriyas in Batighar panchayat close to Paradip port mobilised under Ramachandi Krushak Sabha shot off petitions to the district administration seeking protection of native Oriya speaking people and driving back the outsiders.

Patnaik alleged that governmental agencies nurture perceptible soft corners towards the migrant settlers. As a result, there has been massive influx of people with some of them owing their origin to Bangladesh. These migrant sections are prospering at our cost as the government agencies patronise them under instruction from the ruling parties.

Potential voters

These sections are regarded as potential vote bank for the parties in power. That’s why the native settlers are being meted out raw deal, he alleged. In the latest voters’ revision exercise, hundreds of native settlers were dropped from the electorates’ register while migrant settlers were added to the list. As many as 104 still-alive native settlers were proclaimed dead and were dropped from the list, he alleged. - PTI

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