Bhubaneswar, Oct 8 (PTI) Normal life was affected in several districts of Odisha on 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 seen closed in the morning, 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, Cuttack, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Balasore, Rayagada, Kendrapara, Bolangir, Berhampur, 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.
Due to the shutdown, commuters faced hardship reaching their destinations. Many people were seen waiting at bus stops because public transport services were disrupted.
However, essential services such as hospitals, ambulances, fire services, medicine shops and milk supply were exempted from the bandh, a Congress leader said.
INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Samajwadi Party, RJD and 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.
“We demand a complete rollback of the MMDR (Amendment) Act, resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for ‘vote chori’ and state minister Nityananda Gond for distributing books with erroneous information among school students,” senior Congress leader Suresh Routray said in Bhubaneswar.
Adequate security arrangements have been made across the state to avoid any untoward incidents during the protest, said a senior police officer.
Efforts have been made to ensure that the protests during the bandh take place democratically and peacefully.
Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner S Dev Dutta Singh said, “Discussions have been held with various stakeholders so that protesters conduct their demonstrations within the ambit of their constitutional rights.” PTI BBM BBM BDC
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