Balasore: Following Thursday’s four-hour relaxation, the Balasore district administration has decided to further relax curfew in the town by two more hours from Friday in order to avoid overcrowding of shops.
Officials said that curfew will be relaxed between 6 am and noon from Friday. The district administration had relaxed the curfew in the trouble-torn town by four hours – 7 am to 11 am- Thursday following improvement in law and order situation to allow people to buy essentials. During this period, all shops and commercial establishments were permitted to remain open to allow people to buy items for their daily needs.
Schools and colleges will remain closed for two more days while internet services will remain shut till June 22, district Collector Ashish Thakare said. Landline services have been provided to facilitate urgent works, the Collector added.
The restrictive measure was imposed in the northern Odisha town Monday night following a group clash over animal slaughter near Bhujakhia Peer. At least 10 people were injured in the group clash while 15 to 20 vehicles were vandalised, Monday evening. Meanwhile, 45 persons have been arrested on charge of their involvement in group clash while over 50 persons were detained for violating curfew order, SP Sagarika Nath said.
The number of arrests might go up as she requested the residents not to take law into their hands and cooperate with police. As many as 40 platoons of police forces have been deployed in Balasore town and the situation is being monitored closely. All roads connecting Balasore have also been sealed.
According to an order issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Balasore, no public gathering or large-scale movement of people was allowed during the curfew relaxation period. The administration will decide later on whether to extend the curfew in Balasore town. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has appealed to the people to maintain peace. He also asked the district administration to take all measures to restore normalcy in the town.
PNN
