Dhotra, 12th Sept 2025: The demand for granting block status to Dhotra Panchayat, under Jharigaon Block in Nabarangpur district, has gained momentum. Jharigaon MLA Narasingha Bhatra has personally taken initiative on this issue. The demand has been raised multiple times—from the Assembly to the streets. While the people were hopeful that the Chief Minister would fulfill the demand, they are now disappointed due to the lack of any formal announcement.
Today, in a dedicated meeting held at Durgamandap, the demand was reiterated. It has been decided that on the 7th of this month, a special meeting will be held involving Sarpanches of 14 Panchayats along with grassroots representatives.
On this occasion, MLA Shri Bhatra stated that Jharigaon Block covers an area of 50 km. Administrative services are still inaccessible to people living in remote Panchayats of the block. Issues like land disputes and senior citizen pensions are not being resolved easily. People are forced to travel more than 40 km for services. Therefore, for block reorganization, the MLA has requested more than 14 Sarpanches to gather at Dhotra Shiv Temple on the 7th.
The Sarpanches of the following 14 Panchayats have been requested to pass resolutions at the Panchayat level:
Dhotra
Karagaon
Chatiguda
Diksha
Torenga
Rajpur
Singsari
Kanakote
Dangariguda
Dhamanaguda
Bakadabeda
Badabharandi
Mundiguda
Chatiguda (another)
The MLA said steps will be taken to present the people’s opinions and demands to the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister. His initiative has been welcomed by intellectuals, political figures, and trade association members of Dhotra.
Notable attendees at the meeting included:
Mangala Majhi
Former Sarpanch Aravind Gupta
Bansidhar Bhuya
Kedarnath Pattnayak
Arun Panaka
Babulia Sunani
Yubaraj Singh
Barun Panaka
Rakesh Jena
Manoj Patra
Jakesh Jena, among others, including senior citizens from various localities.
After the MLA’s letter to the Sarpanches went viral on local media, a popular sentiment has been growing in the region with the slogan:
“Let Dhotra be a Block — This is our right.”
It’s worth noting that Umerkote MLA Nityananda Gond had raised this demand for Dhotra’s block status in the Odisha Assembly on July 19, 2022. Previously, in 2011, 2014, and 2015, local representatives had submitted memorandums to the MLAs seeking the same.