Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Demanding a rollback of revised user fees imposed by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), the state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday tried to barge into the BMC office here.
Soon after reaching the civic body office, the BJP activists gheraoed the building where the monthly council meeting was in progress. A scuffle ensued between the protestors and the police when the latter tried to stop them from entering the office premises. The agitators vandalised the entrance of the office, said sources. However, police were able to drive out the protestors from the office premises after a while.
They also staged a road blockade in front of the BMC office following which three platoons of police were deployed.
“User fee collection from the residents and shopkeepers by the civic body officials is unconstitutional. This is violation of people’s rights. We will launch a mass awareness campaign and protest against the illogical rule of the corporation,” said BJP state vice-president Samir Mohanty.
“Why should the people pay the revised users’ fee when the BMC has done nothing for them,” Mohanty said.
Protesting action by the police, BJP spokesperson Lekhashri Samantray said the BJP workers had informed the police that it would gherao the BMC office well in advance, but the behaviour of the police is highly condemnable.
“The BMC is collecting user fee from the city dwellers, but it has failed to utilise the public money towards the development of the city as a large chunk of funds is being misappropriated by corrupt officials. The party has decided to hold a series of protests in various parts of the city beginning May 1,” she added.
City Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said action would be taken against the persons who have disturbed the peace of a government office Monday.
“We cannot scrap the rule of collecting users’ fees from the city dwellers as there is a mandatory clause in the Central government’s rule in this regard. Also, according to the Orissa Municipal Corporation Act-1936, such collection is completely legal. The user fee collection will help us make the city clean,” said Jena.
The police resorted mild lathi-charge, in which a few BJP workers were injured. BJP state president Basant Panda condemned the act and said, “The democracy has given the public the right to protest. The rights of people can’t be suppressed forcefully.”
“Police resorted to a mild lathi-charge to disperse the mob. Some of the people were also drunk,” Badagada IIC Subhendu Sinha said. However, no one has been detained, the IIC added.