Bhubaneswar: Residents of Laxmi Sagar on Sunday staged a protest in front of the homes of mayor Ananta Narayan Jena and housing and urban development minister Niranjan Pujari here against the draft report on ward delimitation.

The residents were led by ward No. 43 councillor Rajalaxmi Nayak, who protested the inclusion of Badapokhari and Santoshi Vihar - earlier part of her area - into ward No. 49.

"The total area of my ward has been reduced as several areas have now been attached to another ward. The number of voters will be reduced by half as a result if the new delimitation proposal is implemented. We have submitted a memorandum to the minister who has assured us that he would look into the matter. We also met the local legislator to rectify the new delimitation process," said Nayak.

She also threatened to intensify the agitation if their demands were not fulfilled.

The civic body approved delimitation of wards and effected fresh reservations at a special meeting on March 20. Five revenue villages have been incorporated into the existing 67 wards with a resolution to be placed before the government for a final nod. Civic officials said the delimitation and reservation of wards had been done on the basis of the 2011 census.

Jena said this was a draft and was yet to be approved. "Delimitation is an electoral process and it has been done according to law. According to the process, grievances will be heard before approval. The government has the power to take necessary action before approval," he said.

The civic body included Kalinga Nagar, Kalinga Vihar, Subuddhipur and parts of Patrapada and Bhagbanpur in its draft delimitation report.