Bhadrak: Acres of land acquired for a food and textile park at Dhamnagar Chhak in Bhadrak remain unutilised. The issue was taken up by Bhadrak MP Manjulata Mandal in Parliament recently.
She pointed out that 217.71 acres were acquired in 1995 for the textile park.
Mandal demanded that if the textile park is set up on the land, people from the district would not have to migrate to Gujarat and other states in search of jobs.
The MP drew attention of the Union Minister of Natural Gas and petroleum toward the long pending project while this project has been proposed by the IOCL.
“During the pandemic, thousands of migrant workers, skilled and unskilled, have returned to the district, after losing their jobs in other states. They live in miseries in absence of jobs made available to them by the administration. If the IOCL’s textile park is set up, that will give them employment,” she added.
Several other projects have also been in limbo, she added. The only major project that has been made operational is the Dhamara port.
It may be noted here that 217.71 acres had been acquired in 1995 to set up a sugar factory at Dhamnagar Chhak under Bhandaripokhari block. Later, the government decided that the land be used for a food and textile park.
Meanwhile, 25 years have passed since the land acquisition, but the project has not yet been realised.
On the other hand, people who had spared their farmland for the project on the promise of employment opportunities are frustrated over inordinate delay of the project. People of Pahimahura, Manjurigadia and other villages have lost their land.
Locals alleged that land acquired for industrial projects is lying unused due to political and administrative apathy while employment scope has been neglected.
PNN