Berhampur: The residents of the city, led by the voluntary organisation Bharatiya Vikas Parishad, are demanding shifting of the collectorate and the regional transport office to here from Chatrapur.

"Berhampur is the educational, cultural and commercial hub of south Odisha with a population of nearly five lakh and an excellent communication system. It has important district-level offices such as fire tenders, district and sessions court, district labour office, chief district medical officer's office, revenue divisional commissioner (south)'s office, district industrial centre and others. So, there is no logic behind retaining the collectorate and the RTO at Chatrapur," Bharatiya Vikas Parishad convener Surendra Panigrahi said, adding that all the 22 blocks were well connected to Berhampur by road and it would make the life of the people easier.

"We have already appraised the chief minister, revenue minister, chief secretary, revenue divisional commissioner, inspector-general of police (southern range) and Ganjam collector about the issue and sought their immediate intervention. We had made this demand on our own earlier. But this time, many organisations are supporting the cause," he said.

Ganjam District Congress Committee, Ganjam Bar Association, the local chamber of commerce, private bus-owners' association, mini-truck owners' association and truck owners' association are supporting the Bharatiya Vikas Parishad's demand.

"If the demand is not fulfilled within one month, we will start an agitation," Panigrahi said.