Kendrapara, Jan 9 (PTI) A demonstration over the demand for an underpass at an expressway in Odisha’s Kendrapara district escalated on Friday, following which prohibitory orders under section 163 of the BNSS were imposed around a police station, officials said.
Locals have been staging a sit-in near the Paradip-Daitary Expressway for four days and blocked it on Thursday for five hours, seeking an underpass near Silipur junction, as highly populated villages are located in the vicinity.
At present, work is underway to widen the four-lane expressway to eight lanes. The highway connects mineral-rich hinterlands in Keonjhar and Jajpur districts with the Paradip port.
On Friday morning, as the demonstrators tried to block the expressway again, police swung into action and took one of the protestors into custody.
Peeved over the police action, hundreds of people, including women and college students, marched to the Marshaghai police station and laid a siege. The administration imposed prohibitory orders around the police station, banning assemblies of four or more persons, an officer said.
“The situation was brought under control after reinforcements arrived from the district police headquarters,” he said.
Normalcy was restored after assurances were given to the locals by the administration that an underpass would be constructed as per the demand, police said. PTI CORR AAM AAM SOM
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