Odisha govt gives BPL cards to 3 Ranpur martyrs’ families

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 14:

In a goodwill gesture, the Odisha government has provided the kin of three freedom fighters with BPL cards in recognition of the supreme sacrifices made by their forefathers in the independence struggle of Ranpur in Odisha’s Nayagarh district.

It may be mentioned here that the three freedom fighters of Ranpur — Arjun Rout, Raghunath Mohanty and Dibakar Parida — had laid down their lives during the Prajamandal movement against the British rule.

While Arjun was shot dead by British officers on January 5, 1939, Raghunath and Dibakar were later tried and hanged at Bhagalpur jail in Bihar on the charge of killing a British officer on April 4, 1941.

In memory of these three martyrs, the ‘Ranpur Diwas’ is being observed on January 5 at Ranpur every year while the state observes Shahid Diwas on April 4.

However, the family members of these martyrs are leading a miserable life.

Talking to Sambad, Bijay Kumar Parida, a kin of Dibakar Parida, said “We have lost everything in the case fought against the king of Ranpur. While the state government has provided a BPL card to our family, it has not provided us any house under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) despite several requests”.

“Leave aside government assistance, the state government has not even thought about installing the statues of these three martyrs in their village,” rued Rabindra Mohanty, a kin of his forefather Raghunath Mohanty.