Baripada, July 2: The Citizen Forum in Mayurbhanj would stage a demonstration tomorrow in front of district collector's office, demanding a large-scale steel industry here.

"Mayurbhanj is the biggest district in the state with 26 blocks. But, there is hardly any industry here. Despite abundance of minerals and other raw materials, the district does not have any steel industry," said a member of the forum.

Forum president Purnachandra Bugudei said: "In 1910, the then Maharaja of Mayurbhanj, Sriramchandra Chandra Bhanjadeo, had allowed mining lease for Gorumahisani and Badampahad for the Tatas. But, no steel industry came up in the district."

"The district that boasts of huge resources has, however, no industry. If a steel company comes up, at least 10,000 to 15,000 youths from Balasore, Keonjhar and Bhadrak will get employments," he said.

Kishor Das, former MLA and another leader of the forum, said: "Mayurbhanj has been neglected, especially in terms of industries, for long. No government has ever taken interest in this issue."

"The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) decided to establish another steel plant in the state. There couldn't be any better option than Mayurbhanj for the location of the plant," he said.

Around 50 people from various walks of life attended the forum meeting organised on Monday. At the meeting they decided that after submitting a memorandum tomorrow, it would watch for sometime if the Centre and the state government were taking any step in this regard. If nothing turns up, they would intensify their agitation.