Title - Grant at least special package: CPM

The Odisha State Committee of the CPM has demanded special category status for the State. In a statement, secretary of the State committee Janardan Pati said if it is not possible to consider the demand for special category status immediately, a special package should be announced for the State considering its backwardness. Stating that Odisha continues to be one of the poor states of the country even though it has abundant mineral resources.Pati alleged that the State has been neglected in the railway sector since independence. Not only the railway budgetary allocation is paltry, the revenue collected from the State is diverted to other regions of the country, he added