Rourkela: The 12-hour Bharat bandh called by various organisations representing the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe, was a success in Sundargarh district and passed off peacefully sans any violence or law and order situation. The public transport unions, which also supported the bandh call, kept vehicles off the road. The Mo Bus which operated for some time also stopped operation after 9 am. There was no forcible closure of schools. However, some of the leading schools and institutes of higher education remained closed as students did not turn up. Meanwhile, production in some of the industrial units remained unaffected. Sources in Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) informed that the attendance was above 99 per cent and production was not affected. Sundargarh MCL’s production remained unaffected despite the bandh. Some effect was visible in the urban areas. However, most of the rural areas remained unaffected. At Rourkela, Sundargarh, Biramitrapur, Bonai, and Rajgangpur the bandh was successful as banks, and offices remained closed. Police officials informed that the bandh was peaceful.
SIR’s Pitfalls
The Supreme Court on 28 July told the Election Commission of India (ECI) to adopt a voter verification approach based...
Read more
