Orissa to seek re-merger of Oriya-speaking areas

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHUBANESWAR, JUNE 2. The Chief Minister, Mr. Naveen Patnaik, has assured a delegation of Sareikala Kharsuan Coordination Committee that his government would take up the issue of re-merger of Sareikala and Kharsuan areas of Bihar with Orissa in the wake of the formation of Vananchal State.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr. Biswanath Kar, leader of the seven-member delegation from Sareikala and Kharsuan, said the Chief Minister also assured them that a resolution demanding re-merger of Sareikala and Kharsuan with Orissa will be adopted in the budget session of the State Assembly beginning June 28.

The delegation is here to seek support from different political parties of Orissa for re-merger of the erstwhile princely States of Sareikala and Kharsuan with Orissa in the wake of the formation of Vananchal. As the Vananchal Bill was to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament, this was the right opportunity for the Orissa Government as well as the MPs from the State to take up the matter with the Centre, Mr. Kar said.

Out of the total 4.22 lakh population of Sareikala and Kharsuan, nearly 3.61 lakh were Oriya-speaking people and the remaining population also spoke Oriya well, Mr. Kar said. Even though the areas were made part of Bihar in 1948, the people of Sareikala and Kharsuan were still depending upon Orissa for education and employment, he added.

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Section  : Other States
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