Members of Bhusampatti Surakshya Parishad block the NH-203 near Puri. Picture by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 9: Tourists as well as other commuters coming to Puri faced a lot of hardship today as local residents blocked the NH-203 connecting pilgrim town with the state capital and the Puri-Konark marine drive opposing the “faulty land acquisition policy” of the Jagannath temple administration.

Led by the Bhusampatti Suraksha Parishad, an organisation fighting for land rights of the local residents, over 600 people, mostly women, blocked the NH-203 at Bira-Harekrushnapur and Puri-Konark marine drive at Balighai.

The movement of large numbers of vehicles was affected as the link to Puri was entirely blocked from 6am to 3pm. The siege was lifted after police took all the protesters into custody.

“We had come to Puri as it was a Sunday. Now we are unable to leave this town. They are protesting for their rights, but we are being harassed,” said Nisha Dixit, a tourist.

The protesters alleged that though they have been staying in Puri and its adjoining areas for over 100 years, the district and temple administration have recently started taking away their land citing that all these belong to the temple.

Uma Ballav Rath, president of the Parishad, said that bypassing a previous law and court orders the state government had in 1992 issued administrative circulars declaring all the land near Puri belonged to the Jagannath temple.

The temple administration recorded all the land in its name without consulting the residents or making any alternative arrangement for them.

“The residents were not only staying there for ages, but also paying tax. Now after the temple administration took away all their land, the residents are being tagged as encroachers in their own home. This will render 60 per cent residents of Puri homeless,” said Rath.

A Parishad member said that around 10,000 families in the town and 4,000 in the rural areas would face problem by the temple administration’s move. They even had gone on such protest agitations several times in the past. In 2006, following a meeting between the Parishad members and chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the state government ordered the administration to follow the court orders before acquiring land, but it was not followed, they alleged.

“After we failed to protect our land, which we have owned for years we resorted to road blockade. Until the matter is solved, we will carry on the fight,” said Aditya Hrudaya Mishra, a member of the Parishad.

The members said that they would not hold discussions with the district administration. They would rather prefer the government to stop playing with the locals and make a proper settlement.