Some women members of self-help groups (SHGs) in the Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) area on Monday alleged that the administration has cheated them by not taking them on a trip to visit Parikrama Prakalpa in Puri.
According to the allegations brought by the miffed women of ward number 36, the ward officer of the SMC was given the charge of Arpan Rath. Then the administration had promised them that they would be taken to Puri. They had also submitted the required documents.
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“We had submitted the documents to the ward officer and he in turn handed them over to the additional commissioner. When we came to know that the list of devotees to be taken to Puri had been finalised, we met the Commissioner. He said we had been excluded. When we wanted to know the reason, he said it is up to them to select who should be taken to Puri,” said Mamata Panda, a complainant.
Another woman Sarita Dhal had similar allegations. “We had already made arrangements for our trip to Puri. But they said they won’t take us. We want to know on what grounds we have been excluded.”
No responses were received from the SMC authorities.