Bhubaneswar: Normal life was affected in several districts of Odisha Thursday as supporters of INDIA bloc parties held demonstrations and blocked roads as part of a 12-hour bandh to protest against a new mining law, “errors” in school textbooks and the alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.
Business establishments, petrol pumps, shops and many educational institutes were closed, while public transport such as buses and autorickshaws remained off the road.
The protesters, holding party flags and banners, staged demonstrations in various places and blocked roads and national highways in Bhubaneswar, Kataka, Baragada, Bhadrak, Baleshwar, Rayagada, Kendrapada, Balangir, Brahmapur, and Sambalpur.
They picketed at major junctions across the state and burnt tyres to enforce the bandh. A number of buses, trucks, taxis, and autorickshaws were stopped in several districts.
The INDIA bloc leaders and activists scuffled with police personnel while marching towards Lok Seva Bhawan (state secretariat) here on Lower PMG Square.
The protesters, led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, attempted to breach barricades but police personnel prevented them, leading to a face-off. The police have detained several protesters from the site.
Due to the shutdown, commuters faced hardship reaching their destinations. Many people were seen waiting at bus stops because public transport services were disrupted.
Essential services such as hospitals, ambulances, fire services, medicine shops and milk supply were exempted from the bandh, a Congress leader said.
However, the situation improved in the afternoon as private vehicles started plying on roads.
INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Samajwadi Party, RJD and the JMM, have been observing the 12-hour Odisha bandh since 6 am, demanding repeal of the new mining law, the resignation of state minister Nityananda Gond over “errors” in school textbooks and the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Protesters allegedly manhandled a police officer in Bhadrak during the bandh. They also hit the protest to streets in Sambalpur and Bhadrak districts, sources said.
“The protest was peaceful and successful as the public wholeheartedly supported it. We demand resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar for irregularities in SIR exercise and complete rollback of the MMDR (Amendment) Act,” Das said.
“Besides, we demand the resignation of state minister Nityananda Gond for distributing books with erroneous information among school students,” he said.
The Congress demanded the distribution of adequate relief and compensation to flood-affected people, he said.
Adequate security arrangements have been made across the state to avoid any untoward incidents during the protest, a senior police officer said.
Efforts have been made to ensure that the protests during the bandh take place democratically and peacefully, he said.
Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner S Dev Dutta Singh informed that 18 platoons of police force along with 200 officers were deployed to provide security during the protest, while 14 platoons of force were in Cuttack city.
About 100 protesters were taken into preventive arrest during the protest in the capital city, he said.
“The major roads, including national highways, and train lines have remained unaffected. Commuters faced hardship as the public transport services have been disrupted,” Singh told media persons.
