Nandapur, 18th Aug 2025: As the nation celebrates the 79th Independence Day on Friday with floral tributes and honors to the martyrs, allegations have surfaced that the 12 freedom fighters of Nandapur block in Koraput district are being neglected and forgotten.
Despite repeated demands, no memorials have been constructed in their memory after their demise. Intellectuals and family members allege that even though there were instructions from the Hon’ble Governor, the District Information and Public Relations Department, the District Culture Department, and the then PD of DRDA, those orders have not been implemented in the last seven years.
Ironically, a statue of freedom fighter and former MLA Bhagaban Khemundu was completed by artisans of the Jeypore Art Institute as per the order of the block administration. However, allegations suggest that the administration failed to make the required payment and bring the statue to Nandapur. As a result, the statue is still lying idle at the institute. Even the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the block is lying in a neglected state.
According to reports, freedom fighters such as Pitambar Khol of Semiliput village (Puji Panchayat), Sadhu Hantal of Bhairabguda, Ram Pujari of Duruba, Bhagaban Khemundu of Khemusuguda (then MLA of Nandapur, now Pottangi constituency), Madhu Sethi of Silapandi, Mundura Dora of Chiliput, Jala Gangadhar of Padua, Damodar Gunda of Khemunduguda, Gangadhar Hantal of Gugaguda, Narasingha Pujari of Kukudapakhsi, Karvik Badanayak of Atanda, and Dasu Karingia of Katarba village are among the prominent freedom fighters of the region.
The state government had recognized them as freedom fighters, awarding them copper plaques and pensions until their demise. While eight names are inscribed on an old stone plaque near the Gandhi statue in the block office, the plaque itself is lying neglected. On the other hand, locals allege that while the administration spends crores on other projects, it has ignored the demand for constructing memorials for these freedom fighters.
Between 2018 and 2021, several communications were made by the Governor, the District Information and Public Relations Department, the Culture Department, and the DRDA to the block administration urging the installation of Bhagaban Khemundu’s statue. In 2018–19, a file was opened for ₹65,000 for statue construction, and artisans at Jeypore Art Institute were assigned the task. The statue was made, but it has not been installed yet. This has caused resentment among locals.
Intellectuals have urged the district and block administration to relocate the neglected Gandhi statue and stone plaque to a safer place and to take immediate steps to install statues of all 12 freedom fighters to honor their memory.
When asked about the matter, Block Development Officer (BDO) Durga Prasad Dora said that the statue of former MLA and freedom fighter Bhagaban Khemundu will very soon be brought from the Jeypore Art Institute and installed at Nandapur. For the other 11 freedom fighters, if statues are not possible, at least oil-painted portraits will be installed in their honor.
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